Most founders wait too long to think about selling their company. By the time they finally call someone like me, they've either convinced themselves their business is worth a bajillion dollars, or the thing is actively on fire. Neither is a great negotiating position.
The best exits aren't panic moves. They're planned years ahead—boring stuff like making sure you don't get 80% of your revenue from one guy named Dave, and actually knowing what your profit margins are. When a buyer finally looks at your business, they're not buying what you have today. They're buying what they think they can turn it into. You're basically selling a fixer-upper and hoping they see "potential."
What Buyers Actually Care About (Spoiler: It's Not Your Logo)
Buyers aren't buying your revenue. They're buying your ability to keep making more of it.
Think of it like dating. A business doing $5 million with fat margins and loyal customers is like someone with a steady job, their own apartment, and zero drama. A business doing $10 million but bleeding money to acquire customers and watching them leave? That's someone who looks great on paper but has three angry exes and a car that's "temporarily" not running.
Buyers look for three things:
- Repeatability – Can you do this again next month, or was last quarter a fluke?
- Defensibility – What stops someone else from eating your lunch?
- Scalability – Can this thing grow, or is it already maxed out?
Miss one, and your price drops. Nail all three, and suddenly you're the one deciding if they're good enough.
Timing: The Thing Everyone Gets Wrong
Here's where founders mess up: they treat selling their business like a trip to the emergency room. They start looking for buyers when growth flatlines, when their biggest customer ghosts them, or when the bank account starts making concerning noises.
At that point, you're not selling. You're holding a garage sale.
The right time to position for an exit is when you don't need one. When things are growing. When you have options. When you can look a buyer in the eye and say "no thanks" without your left eyelid twitching.
The best deals are done by people who don't need to do them.
This is why smart advisory work happens in two phases. Phase one: make your business actually worth buying. Phase two: find the buyer. Most advisors skip straight to phase two, which is like trying to sell a house without fixing the hole in the roof. Sure, you can do it. But you're not going to like the offers.
So What Should You Actually Do?
If you're building something you eventually want to sell, start thinking like a buyer today. Squint at your business the way a stranger with a checkbook would.
What makes it irresistible? What makes it forgettable? What would make someone say "shut up and take my money" versus "I'll circle back" (which, as we all know, means "never")?
Those answers should shape everything—who you hire, how you price, what you build next.
Because when the moment comes, you don't get a do-over. First impressions are forever, and buyers have short memories and long spreadsheets.
Now go look at your P&L and ask yourself: "Would I buy this?"
If the answer is "...maybe after a few drinks," we should talk.