By Vakis Boutsalis
This Valentine’s Day nothing says “I hate you” like a bouquet of dead roses.
As part of a promotional campaign for today’s official launch of www.ihatemypartner.com, a website that lets users gauge whether or not they hate their business partner, street vendors will be selling dead flowers all day in Toronto’s business district.
“Valentine’s is a day where we usually reflect on relationships in a positive way. The idea for ihatemypartner.com came from wanting to do something different,” says Jim Ambrose, a partner with the Shotgun Fund, the private equity firm behind the website.
Managed since 1999 by the Argosy Partners — a private investment firm that specializes in merchant banking for small and medium sized businesses — the Shotgun Fund provides financial assistance for people who find themselves in the midst of a shotgun clause situation.
“Simply put, a shotgun clause allows one partner to tell their other partner to either buy or sell the remaining shares in a company,” explains Ambrose.
Once a shotgun clause is pulled the other partner has a short time to decide whether they will buy their partner’s shares at a stated price, or sell their own shares at that same price.
“We provide capital to people who have had a shotgun pulled on them and need to come up with the money in a short time,” says Ambrose.
That the Shotgun Fund waited until Valentine’s Day to launch their website speaks to the importance of relationships in business, good or bad.
“Having a functional business relationship is just as important as having a functional marriage,” explains Ambrose. “Most people spend more time with their business partners, than they do with their spouses.”
our doorsteps and their partner has pulled a shotgun clause on them then that person is looking to get married to someone else rather fast. What we have to do is provide comfort.”
The website and promotional campaign, Ambrose says, is a light-hearted way to draw attention to the importance of a good business relationship.
Users who log on to ihatemypartner.com will be presented with a list of the top ten signs a business relationship is failing, as well as a link to the Shotgun Fund.
