Over two decades ago, Boyd and Dale Reynolds took a leap of faith and invested in a failing mattress manufacturing business — with almost no industry knowledge. After overcoming canceled contracts, mismanaged finances, and other challenges left behind by previous ownership, the brothers found a niche in the market and resurrected Athens Mattress into American Bedding Manufacturers, turning it into a highly profitable business that would employ their entire family. 

A defining moment arrived when a church called to purchase 100 mattresses for their camp. With no idea how to manufacture this type of mattress, the brothers took the contract, learned the ropes from trusted vendors, and never looked back. Before long, mattresses for summer camps, rescue missions, shelters, and government contracts became the company’s bread and butter.

Boyd’s daughter, Hali Reynolds, joined the family business right after graduating with an accounting degree and took on the bookkeeping and accounting responsibilities, eventually earning the title of CFO and running most of the day-to-day operations. 

When the Reynolds decided it was time to sell their beloved business, Hali became the point person for her family, leading them through the sale and staying on to transition American Bedding into the future with its new ownership. 

Read on to learn about Hali’s experience working with her family and how they navigated their exit as a family unit. 

What was your experience like being a part of a family business? Is there anything you were especially proud to accomplish? 

We loved working with each other and being a family business. I think one of our biggest accomplishments as a whole was bringing on our government sales efforts through the General Services Administration (GSA) .

In 2008, my Uncle Don joined the business with the sole purpose of tackling government sales. There’s a lot of red tape involved with qualifying for government contracts, so he spent about a year lining up our eligibility to get government contracts. That was a game changer because of the high volume, which allowed us to be a better buyer of raw materials and keep costs down for other markets. 

As for me personally, pushing us over the finish line on the sale of the company was one of my biggest accomplishments.

How did you know it was time to sell? 

Both Boyd and Dale were getting older, and Boyd especially had been talking about retirement for several years. That got the conversation started, and the family started thinking about buying him out. But it’s not like these things come with a price tag, so we decided to get a valuation done. 

As we weighed our options if Boyd and Dale retired, my siblings weren’t in a position to step into that role, leaving just me to run the family business at a time when I was also quite busy personally — I was hoping to start a family myself. 

When the numbers and ballpark figures came back from our valuation, we were all a bit surprised at how profitable it could be to pursue an exit. It just seemed like perfect timing, so we decided to go for it and see what a sale would bring. 

What were your goals going into the sale? 

Of course, we wanted to get top dollar, and FourBridges definitely helped with that. 

But we also wanted to find the right fit to continue running the business as we had, not chop it up into pieces. We’d had very low turnover, especially with our key employees, so those people end up like family. We wanted to leave them in good hands. 

Did you consider selling your business without an advisor? 

No, we never for one second considered selling without help. We knew it was too complicated to tackle on our own. The process of due diligence, putting together the CIM, and distributing it to contacts is all more than any of us even realized at the time. 

We’re a pretty unique business model, so FourBridges cast a wide net when they first started marketing us. After all of that work, I think even FourBridges was surprised by the response. They told us they’ve never had that many initial meeting requests.

What do you wish you knew before initiating the sale? 

I don’t think any of us realized how involved it was going to be for our management team and  the amount of financial, operational, sales and customer data FourBridges required in order to properly position us to sophisticated private equity and strategic buyers..

What was one of the most challenging parts of the sale process? 

I would say one of the most challenging things was just the rollercoaster aspect of it. We experienced highs and lows. You think you have a deal on the table one minute and the next it feels like things are falling apart, especially when they throw you a curveball question during due diligence. FourBridges was there to help us ride those things out, keep us patient, and reel everyone back in if things seemed rocky. 

Why did you choose to work with FourBridges over other firms? 

FourBridges felt like a good fit on a personal level. They came with glowing recommendations from other business owners who we knew had been through a similar process, but it was our rapport and chemistry that sealed the deal. We really liked Andy and hit it off with him early on, and I knew that would be important for what we were about to go through together.

What is the best thing about working with FourBridges? 

They did such a good job of helping to build our team. We would ask questions about the process and their recommendations for legal counsel and accountants. It’s huge to pull together those pieces of the puzzle and make sure we had the right team in place. 

What advice would you give to fellow business owners considering selling their businesses? 

The due diligence process is extremely thorough. We were blessed to have fairly clean books and several years of growth to attract investors, but potential buyers are going to pick out any weaknesses or flaws that they can find. During that process, questions could come up and the answer might not be so pretty, and FourBrides helped us present our business in the best possible light. 

I loved working with those guys, and I would not recommend going through something like this without an advisor in your corner. 

What are you doing now? 

As far as business goes, I’m still working part time at American Bedding, and we’re using this time as an opportunity to diversify and pursue some new interests.

Boyd and Dale are enjoying their retirement, my parents are traveling even more now, and I’m enjoying being a new mom! It’s been a big shift, but I’m loving the change that it’s brought, especially the time I get to spend with my son.