Built to Exit
- adellemunsie
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
How some business owners exit but few finish strong.
Most companies older than seven years are fortunate to simply to survive. Very few scale. Even fewer exit well.
And yet there is a certainty every business owner or founder shares. Either way, we all exit someday.
Some exit by choice. Some exit by force. Some exit with options.
Many exit tired or burnt-out.
According to the Exit Planning Institute, 1 out of 2 exit due to one or more of the 5Ds: Divorce, Disagreement, Disability, Distress, and Death.
The difference is not luck. It is intentional preparation.
(If you want to learn how to engineer options for your business and finish strong on exit, join my Scaling Up to Finish Strong Workshop)
Many founders and business owners believe valuation is about growth. I had the same misconception as a founder. It isn't. It's about predictability.
Built to EXIT
Exit is not an event. It is the final exam of how the company was built.
Companies that command premium valuations are Built to EXIT. They are deliberately constructed to be predictable, transferable, and independent of the founder.
Valuation is not just EBIT multiplied by a market multiple. It is EBIT multiplied by certainty.
Buyers discount uncertainty. They reward predictability.
If you reduce perceived risk and gain one additional turn on the multiple, the math is stark:
$2M EBIT at 5× = $10M
$2M EBIT at 6× = $12M
That difference is not negotiated at the end. It is engineered over years.
Case Study: Discipline and a Fairytale Ending
Take Steven Smith, for example. Steven got his storybook ending when he sold GCommerce, a software company known for its dominance of the automotive vertical.
It was 2022 when GCommerce was acquired by SPS, a supply chain management company, for $45 million. Not because the business had ridden the explosive, COVID-fuelled, last-minute growth.
It became an acquisition target because it was built in a way that made it easy to believe in its future performance. The kind of confidence that buyers pay for.
What made it an attractive acquisition target?
92% recurring revenue
Steady 15 to 20 per cent year-on-year growth for a decade
Strong margins
Near-zero churn
Strong market position in the automotive sector
Strong culture
Enviable cash conversion cycles
Technology and process innovation
Meeting rhythms like daily huddles and 6-week strategy reviews
Not hyper growth. Not volatility. Predictability, certainty and discipline.
The business demonstrated predictable cash flow, customer retention, leadership and operational depth. It was not dependent on the heroic efforts of the founder. It was transferable.
That reduced buyer risk. Reduced risk supported valuation.
Buyers do not pay for periods of growth. They pay for predictable, scalable businesses untethered to the founder or owner.
The Founder Factor
The single largest valuation risk in most private companies is entrepreneur dependency.
When sales, key relationships, and decision-making sit with one individual, the business is not an asset. It is employment.
Built to EXIT companies look different:
Management depth beyond the founder
Documented systems and processes
Clear KPIs tied to accountability
Clean, transparent financial reporting
Reduced customer concentration
Recurring or highly repeatable revenue
Exits start with the owner.
The shift from indispensable operator to scalable architect is the defining move.
You cannot control macro cycles. You cannot control market multiples. You cannot control buyer appetite.
But you can control your premiums and whether your company can engineer options and finish strong on EXIT.
Every founder's journey is different, but the destination is the same.
We all exit someday. The question is not whether you will exit, but how, and on whose terms.
The founders who finish strong are not the ones who got lucky. They are the ones who built intentionally, over time, with the end in mind. Who grew not just revenue and profit, but certainty.
That is what it means to be Built to EXIT. Not just a great business, but one that is ready when you are.
Take the Next Step
Scaling Up to Finish Strong Workshops
If you would like to dive more into Scaling to Finish Strong and building a company that is not only successful, but built to EXIT, join one of my upcoming workshops:
Learn why exits start with the owner and how buyer risk affects valuation. Identify strategies to de-risk your business for buyers, and discover practical steps to strengthen your exit readiness. 90-minutes plus optional 30-minutes Q&A.
Join us for a hands-on, strategic workshop where you'll decide your deal priorities, learn the different exit options and buyer types and how they fit your company. Understand what drives valuation and how to become 'exit-ready' even before you begin a process or entertain an offer. We will also cover process, timings and ideal team.
A live Q&A with M&A legal and IP partners on avoiding common seller mistakes.
80-page Scaling up to finish strong workbook and lunch included.
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