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FROM humble beginnings in 2008 with just $400 to his name to a sale price of $39 million, Australian entrepreneur Nick Bell now has one of those classic "built-it-from-nothing" stories that are the envy of many in the business world.
He sold his digital marketing company, WME Group, to ASX listed Melbourne IT (ASX:MLB) as one of Australia's leading digital marketing companies, with offices across the globe from Dubai to Hong Kong to Singapore.
"I've been approached a few times by large organisations to buy the business out and buy my Australian business, and at the time it probably wasn't the right fit for us," says Bell.
WME Group provides end-to-end digital marketing solutions including search engine optimisation and advertising, and web design.
"Melbourne IT approached myself and were looking to purchase a digital marketing agency such as ourselves and it was just the right fit; they've got half a million customers, they're probably the leader in digital marketing in Australia and it was just a perfect marriage for both parties to go together," Bell says.
"They want to keep the business intact, they want to leverage what we do, and learn from what we do."
Melbourne IT will fund the purchase of Bell's company through a combination of $9 million debt and round of capital raising of $30.7 million to the company's shareholders.
Bell will exit WME on June 30, but will continue to be involved with WME's operations overseas as well as the many Australian based projects he currently has going on.
"To be honest, I'll take month or two off and I'll work out what the next big play is," says Bell.
"I definitely want to get back into something fairly quickly."
Business News Australia spoke to Nick Bell today following the sale of WME and asked him what his tips on being a successful entrepreneur, the sector's growth areas, and what he will be working on into the future.
What are your three tips for success in entrepreneurship?
What other projects have you been working on lately?
Is website security a different world to digital marketing?
What are some of the tech trends and internet trends that entrepreneurs should watch for in the next few years?
Business News Australia
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