Preparing for exit
PREXIT – Preparing for Exit
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
The toughest six months of my life was selling my last business. I confidently told the Due Diligence team I was looking forward to going through it – our records were meticulous, I knew every inch of the business. Ha. I had no idea.
Old client contracts out of date, supplier agreements non-compliant, insurances below industry standard – discount factor, discount factor, discount factor. Over 300 items of complex DD questions, all while still trying to grow the business and hit the magic EBITDA.
With hindsight, I should have started the whole process much earlier – much earlier than the day the DD team turned up, much earlier than the day we met the M&A advisors, much earlier than the day we decided to go to market.
The PREXIT model
Five parts. One steady route to an exit you're actually ready for.
P
Prepare
Get the business – contracts, suppliers, insurances, records – in a state a DD team can't chip away at.
R
Refine
Sharpen the numbers, the story and the operating model so the value stands up under scrutiny.
E
Execute
Work alongside your M&A advisors and buyers so you can focus on protecting EBITDA while the deal runs.
Xi
eXit
Navigate DD, negotiation and completion with someone who has sat in the founder's seat before.
T
Thrive
Plan what comes next – for the business, its people and, importantly, for you.
Commitment
Six months +
Depending on where your preparations are already.
Rhythm
Quarterly workshops
Face-to-face, with regular virtual sessions in between.
Between meetings
Agreed tasks
You keep moving the business forward; I keep it accountable.
“Selling a business is a bit like flying a fighter jet at very low altitude – you need nerves of steel, there's a lot that can go wrong and knowledge of the terrain is absolutely critical. If you want to succeed in your exit mission you need the right person in the cockpit next to you, and I can't think of a better wingman than Simon Wright.”
Thinking about exit – even quietly?
Start the conversation early. It's almost always the best decision a founder makes.