Deal strategy consult:
15 questions. 10 minutes.
The score tells you which evolution you are living in.
Clarity:
– Transferable value in one sentence
– Quarterly optimization target
– Value question on every major decision
– Progress metrics beyond revenue
– Definition of “winning” at the next evolution
Autonomy:
– Documented owners for recurring tasks
– Weekly leadership meetings without the founder
– 90-day operational independence
– Explicit decision rights
– 4-week vacation test
Transferable Value:
– Clean, current, audit-ready financials
– No single-point dependencies
– Exportable systems, data, and IP
– One completed 3-Month Nest Test
– Brand, contracts, and culture that survive leadership change
Four questions to ask yourself: (Before a buyer does it for you)
- Am I out of the day-to-day, or is the day-to-day me?
- Is my revenue repeatable, or lucky?
- Do my customers stay and grow?
- Can my team survive the room without me?
Deals and acquisitions are not about the highest revenue or fastest growth.
If I wanted to know what your business is really worth before I ever saw your financials, This is what I would look for.
ONE: The founder is already out of the day-to-day. Not “taking a step back.” The business makes its money whether the founder is in the room or on a beach. When everything runs through one person, that is founder dependency, and it is a completely different valuation structure than a professionally managed company.
TWO: The revenue is real and repeatable. Not one big year or three (3) accounts carrying the whole number. Revenue a buyer can underwrite because it shows up again next quarter without a hero effort behind it. The first thing diligence tries to do is prove your revenue is not a fluke.
THREE: The customers stay and grow. Buyers do not pay for the customers you have today. They pay for the ones who will still be here in three (3) years, spending more. Retention is the quietest number in the deal and one of the loudest in the price.
FOUR: The business survives the room without you. The real test in diligence: Can the management team answer the buyer’s questions when the founder is not there to fill the gaps? If the answers live only in the founder’s head, the buyer is buying a job, and they price it like one.
Put these together, and you will have the business every buyer wants, and few founders have built.
$10M in revenue and decades of history will not save you if it all runs through you.
On paper, that business looks bulletproof.
In a deal room, it is the one who takes everything from the founder.
So run this diagnostic on yourself before a buyer does it for you.
The most valuable companies run on systems.
The least valuable run on heroics.
For a second opinion, schedule a 5-minute Systems Check.