How a Writer-Turned-Publisher Found the Perfect Buyer Without Giving Up Control
Andy Symonds never wanted to sell Ballast Books. He loved working with authors, designing covers, reviewing manuscripts. But two years ago, he hit an inflection point. "If we want to take this thing to another level, am I equipped to do it myself?"
Andy founded Ballast Books in 2019 after years as a writer trying to break into traditional publishing. He'd spent years querying agents for his book My Father's Son, finally landed a big New York agent, and hit the same wall repeatedly: editorial boards saying "not marketable enough" or "we don't know the demographic." Traditional publishers cared more about Twitter followers than story quality.
So he learned hybrid publishing, a model that gives power back to authors. They keep creative control, retain intellectual property rights, and get their stories told without clearing the gatekeepers in New York. He started Ballast Books with one author, a Green Beret named Jason Van Camp. The book, Deliberate Discomfort, was a success. Then came a second book, a third, a fourth. He added a children's book called Blue Balloon. Then Valor Press. The company grew organically, all remote before COVID made it standard.
By 2023, Ballast Books had published notable authors like Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher (The Man in the Arena), Mike Sorrentino from Jersey Shore, and Peter Weber from The Bachelor. Andy loved the work. He was making good money. But he'd never run a company before. He'd never scaled a business. And he realized: to get to the next level, he needed help.
Finding The Right Balance
A smart friend suggested taking on an investor. Andy's first reaction was, "No. I have no desire to sell the company." But his friend reframed it, "If you take on an investor who could actually help you scale, that could be a force multiplier for you."
Andy thought about it. He loved working with authors. That's where he wanted to spend his time versus on operations or scaling systems.
The friend told him about Rejigg. Andy had never heard of it. "I'm not in that world," he says. But his friend worked in hedge funds and investment banking. He knew the landscape and thought Rejigg was doing something different.
The pitch was simple: Put your company on the platform, and see if there's interest. There’s no cost, so it’s fairly low risk. Andy listed Ballast Books “not really expecting anything."
[VIDEO EMBED: Discovering Rejigg]
Owning the Conversation Through The Deal
Then the emails started coming in; a lot of people were interested in his company.
"I was honestly shocked," Andy says. "Somebody actually wants to [buy]; that was new for me. I have a business that is valuable, that other people value. I realized that, but it wasn't really tangible until that moment."
And the whole process was simple: “I don't have to spend hours pulling due diligence documents. It was: here's my information, here are my details, here's what I'm looking for."
His Rejigg contact, Flynn, walked him through every step. "He recognized that I didn't know what the hell I was doing in terms of selling a business. And he wasn't the least bit condescending. He just educated me."
Andy met with a handful of people who reached out through the platform. "I was very impressed with just the caliber of people. These were people who had done it, who had taken businesses where I wanted to go."
He looked at the conversations as fact finding missions. Some wanted to buy the whole company. Andy wasn't interested in that.
Then he found the right person: tech background, had sold a company for $1 billion, great track record. He even flew out to West Palm Beach and really dug into the company, into who Andy was as a person and an operator.
The investor wanted controlling interest, which was a no-go for Andy. "But,” Andy says, “I think we were both excited enough to work with each other that he was okay with taking a minority share." Andy sold 25%.
The investor brought scaling expertise. Andy could focus on creative work, the part he loved. "It just seemed like the perfect fit to help bring Ballast, Blue Balloon, and Valor Press into the next stratosphere."
[VIDEO EMBED: Rejigg experience and quality of buyers]
Why Rejigg Worked
Andy's experience was different from a typical full sale transaction. "My deal was probably not the normal deal at Rejigg," he says. "I used it differently."But that's what he loved about it.
"Flynn listened to what my needs were, what I was looking for. It was really tailored to my specific needs, what my business needed, what I needed as an owner."
There was no pressure to do a full sale. The platform was flexible to different deal structures. It connected him with people who shared his values. And he could easily turn down conversations that weren't the right fit.
He even stayed in touch with people he met through Rejigg who didn't end up being the right partner. One of them now does AI consulting work for Ballast.
Andy had business brokers emailing him before Rejigg. "I kind of knew the way that worked. It was not something I was interested in at all."
With Rejigg there was "no risk, low effort. What's the worst that can happen? Nothing bad can happen. All upside," says Andy.
[VIDEO EMBED: Personalized Experience]
What's Next
Andy is clear about his plans: "I certainly see at some point being back on the Rejigg platform."
"I don't know what that is," he says; maybe it’ll be to take on additional investors or maybe it’ll be to step back completely. "But that's what I like about the flexibility of Rejigg,” continues Andy, “I'm fairly confident that whatever my goals are, you guys will be able to help me get there."
But for now, Andy's doing what he loves. Working with authors, telling important stories, helping people publish books that traditional publishers won't touch. With the right partner helping him scale.
What Other Owners Can Learn
- You don't have to sell everything. Sometimes bringing in the right partner at 25% creates more value than going it alone.
- Rejigg worked for Andy because it adapted to his needs, not the other way around. No pressure or forced timeline.
- The vetted buyer pool meant Andy spent time with serious, qualified people, not tire kickers.
- Andy didn't know M&A. He asked questions, learned as he went, and found the right partner. Flynn and the Rejigg team educated him without condescension.
- There's a parallel between what Andy built and how he found his investor. Ballast Books gives authors control over their stories. Rejigg gives owners control over their transactions. Both are changing industries where a few gatekeepers traditionally held all the power.
[VIDEO EMBED: Andy's advice for other business owners considering capital raises]
Andy kept control of his business while finding a partner who will help him build something bigger. And when the time comes for the next chapter, whether that's more investment or a full exit, he knows where he'll go.
