21: Facing a Runway Crisis? How Employee Deferrals Secured Roy Vella a Successful Acquisition
Roy Vella, CEO, Next CoLabs
In this insightful episode of From Angel to Exit, Bruce Eckfeldt sits down with Roy Vella, entrepreneur, advisor, and former PayPal executive, to unpack the extraordinary story of how his first startup survived the dot-com bust and found a successful exit.
Straight out of business school, Roy co-founded NetAbacus, an early version of QuickBooks Online—years before Intuit launched its own cloud offering. The company grew quickly, landing enterprise clients and scaling to 35 employees. Just as they were set to close a $15M venture round in April 2000, the market collapsed. Within weeks, the deal evaporated, leaving the team with only six weeks of runway.
Rather than give up, Roy leveraged his legal training and designed an innovative employee salary deferral program: employees deferred pay in exchange for a 50% bonus upon sale. With 95% participation and founders stopping their salaries entirely, the company extended its runway from six weeks to six months. This commitment not only saved the business—it became a powerful proof point for acquirers, who saw a highly dedicated and cohesive team.
NetAbacus was rebranded as Rivio and ultimately acquired by Biztro, which needed a strong accounting and payments platform. Roy explains how transparency and direct communication with buyers accelerated the deal, and why “co-opetition” often creates the best acquisition opportunities.
Post-exit, Roy experienced the shift from founder to employee, later joining PayPal, RBS, and multiple advisory roles. He shares lessons on integration pitfalls, cultural mismatches in M&A, and why founders must stay externally visible as lead storytellers of their companies. His advice for today’s founders: build integratable systems (“think API-first”), embrace channels-to-market, and never underestimate the role of storytelling and interpersonal dynamics in exits.
This episode offers both a riveting story of resilience under crisis and timeless strategies for scaling and selling businesses.
Key Takeaways
Crises demand creativity: salary deferral saved months of runway and impressed acquirers.
Transparency builds trust and accelerates deal-making during tough markets.
Employee commitment and culture directly affect perceived acquisition value.
Founders must embrace external visibility—storytelling is as critical as strategy.
Integration-friendly businesses (API mindset) are far more attractive to buyers.
Co-opetition often unlocks unexpected deal opportunities.
Post-exit transitions can be jarring; expect emotional and cultural shifts.
Strategic investor targeting includes competitors’ backers—who often want diversification.
Contact Information:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/royvella
