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Built to Sell Radio

Built to Sell Radio is a weekly podcast for business owners. Each week, we ask a recently cashed out entrepreneur why they decided to sell, what they did right and what mistakes they made through the process of exiting their business. Built to Sell Radio is the ultimate insider's guide to approaching the most important financial transaction of your life.
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Now displaying: November, 2016
Nov 30, 2016

The first book I ever read about entrepreneurship was The E-Myth by Michael Gerber.

I loved it.

Gerber’s knack for simplifying the complex art of starting and growing a company resonated with me immediately. Although I’ve never met Michael, I consider him to be one of my very first teachers.

I have not read his more recent books so when his publicist contacted me last week to see if I would interview Michael on Built to Sell Radio, I was keen to hear what he had been up to since The E-Myth.

In this interview, you’ll get a summary of his new book, Beyond The E-Myth including:

  • Why every company should be built as a product to sell.
  • The four stages of building a sellable company.
  • How to engage “the beginner’s mind”.
  • The four rolls of every founder.
  • The hierarchy of growth.

For the better part of 40 years, Michael Gerber has been encouraging business owners to work “on, not in” your business. That’s exactly what we do with owners that leverage The Value Builder System™. Each month, you’ll get focused time with one of our Certified Value Builders to help you build your company as if it were a product to sell. Get started by completing your Value Builder questionnaire.

Nov 23, 2016

Frank Cottle led an investor group to buy Hi-Mark Software for 10 times EBITDA. Cottle then sold a chunk for 15 times and ultimately sold his last tranche of equity for more than 16 times EBITDA to Lufthansa. In this interview, you’ll get deep inside the mind of a private equity buyer and learn:

  • three reasons acquisition deals fall apart.
  • the difference between your reputation and your brand and which one acquires value most.
  • the definition of “suicide by investor” and the dangers of getting into bed with a private equity group.
  • how stock clawbacks can dilute your position to zero in the company you started.
  • how a stock re-capitalization works.
  • one key decision every entrepreneur must make in growing their company.
  • why cross-selling as an investment thesis is flawed.
Nov 16, 2016

Most of our Built to Sell Radio episodes have been success stories but this week’s show is a cautionary tale of what happens when you don’t plan ahead. It features Dan Bradbury, a young entrepreneur who was growing a successful business right up until the day he had a cycling accident and ended up in a coma.

Bradbury made a full recovery after seven months, but his business didn’t make out as well. It suffered in his absence, and instead of committing to build it back up upon his recovery, Bradbury decided to sell it, reasoning he needed to safeguard his family’s finances should anything bad happen again. After a long search, Bradbury found a buyer but the offer he received revealed his weakened negotiating position.You’ll hear Bradbury's cautionary tale along with:

  • How to build leverage into your negotiations.
  • Why you need a BATANA (Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement) when exiting your business.
  • How you can you-proof your business.
  • How you can use accretive value to your advantage.
Nov 9, 2016

Mark Stephenson and his partners grew their conference business, Media Edge Communications, to north of $10 million in annual revenue when they were approached by an acquirer. They agreed to a deal that was just shy of eight times EBITDA—85% of the deal was in cash with 15% in an earn-out. If Stephenson had the deal to do over again, he would change his earn-out structure to avoid leaving money on the table. You’ll learn about Stephenson’s earn-out mistake along with:

- The emotional impact of selling.

- How buyers try to grind you down during diligence (and how to counter).

- How to tell the difference between a time-kicker and a serious acquirer.

- How long it takes to negotiate the sale of a business.

Nov 2, 2016

Steve Huey bought The Learning House, a company that creates online courses on behalf of colleges, for $2.7MM in 2007 because he saw the opportunity to professionalize the sales and account management of the business. Five years later, Huey sold the business to Weld North, a private equity company for $27.5 MM earning his shareholders an 8 to 1 return. 

In this episode, you’ll hear Huey’s advice on:

  • how to raise  a $4MM angel round in 7 days
  • an inexpensive way to figure out what your business is worth
  • buying a business with little of your own money down
  • Handling a buyer who drops their offer after signing an LOI
  • Differentiating between an earning out an escrow
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