Why do entrepreneurs leave safe jobs, and put their homes on the line, all to build a business? They do it for lots of reasons: perhaps to prove a point, to follow a dream, to make a difference or because they enjoy the adventure. And they also do it because they want to make lots of money when they sell their company. But what happens after the final exit?

When you sell a business that you’ve spent years growing, the first sensation is one of anticlimax. All the effort, the sleepless nights, the huge risks – then comes the long-awaited reward, the payday. Here is the capital gain you worked so hard for; this is the marvellous windfall. Except it doesn’t feel like that.

A bulging bank balance isn’t the same as a living enterprise that you create from scratch. Cash is a dead thing until it is converted into a useful asset. By that time most entrepreneurs are worldly enough to understand that extra money to buy a flashier car, bigger house or show-off boat isn’t really the point. Such baubles give not a fraction of the satisfaction to be obtained from nurturing a business, launching popular new products, cultivating a team and generating jobs.