How she sold a community company for $22M – then bought the company back
TL;DR: Jaclyn Johnson's Create & Cultivate journey demonstrates the power of diversification and previous exit proceeds. After selling her bootstrapped marketing agency No Subject for 7 figures in 2016, she invested $50K (plus $250K from a partner) into Create & Cultivate, a community for women professionals focused on in-person events. Before COVID-19, she had built diversified revenue streams: launched podcast WorkParty in 2018, membership club in 2019, and ramped up e-commerce offerings. When the pandemic hit, this infrastructure enabled a rapid pivot—flipping from 70% events/30% digital to the reverse. Despite canceling in-person events, Create & Cultivate reached 1M women monthly and 7-figure profitability in 2020 with 17 employees. Johnson credited mission-driven brand sponsorships (Mastercard, Madewell, Apple TV, Amazon) built over years for supporting the business during crisis. She sold to private equity firm Corridor Capital for $22M in March 2021. After serving as CEO until January 2022, she became vice chair while revenue declined from $14M (2019) to $5M (2023). Following a burnout and reset year in 2023, Johnson bought back majority ownership with partner Marina Middleton for less than the $22M sale price, committing to stronger boundaries and operators for her second act.
Key Insights
- Use proceeds from a previous exit as seed capital to de-risk your next venture ($50K from 7-figure No Subject sale funded Create & Cultivate)
- Diversify revenue streams BEFORE crisis hits—Johnson had podcast (2018), membership (2019), and e-commerce pre-pandemic, enabling rapid COVID pivot
- Build infrastructure and teams for multiple revenue models simultaneously so you can flip between them when market conditions change (70/30 → 30/70)
- Mission-driven positioning retains sponsors during crisis—Create & Cultivate's focus on supporting women-owned businesses kept Mastercard, Apple, Amazon engaged
- Buying back from PE can work if you've learned from burnout and bring operational partners for your second act
Actionable Takeaways
- If you've had a previous exit, invest a portion (10-20%) into your next venture to maintain skin in the game while de-risking
- Launch adjacent revenue streams 1-2 years before you think you'll need them (podcast, membership, e-commerce) so infrastructure is ready when you pivot
- Build sponsor/partner relationships over multiple years by consistently delivering value—they'll support you during downturns
- When buying back a company from investors, bring operational co-founders/partners to share the load and prevent burnout
- Document your mission clearly and use it to retain key partners during market shifts (women-owned business focus retained sponsors)