If you’re feeling a little queasy about the pace of change, you’re not alone. AI is accelerating competition in almost every market, and it’s making some business models feel irrelevant almost overnight.
Ryan O’Leary felt a version of that pressure in payments. His company, Sona, won customers by being transparent in an industry known for churn and shady pricing. Then platforms like Shopify started bundling merchant processing into their software plans. Ryan saw where it was headed: “Our days were numbered.” So he chose to sell before the shift did the damage, and he structured the deal to get most of his cash up front.
In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, John Warrillow talks with Ryan about reading the warning signs early, running a tight process, and negotiating for certainty.
You’ll learn how to:
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Decide whether to raise capital, hire a CEO, roll equity, or sell.
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Run a controlled process with a short target list and still create competition.
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Prioritize deal structure over a headline multiple.
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Keep an earnout short, clear, and hard to game.
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Align your team by sharing upside, including the earnout.
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Separate emotion from the numbers so you can negotiate clean.
Quote of the Week
Our days are numbered and we could continue to crunch out more, but it’s going to get harder and harder to beat that equation.
Deals
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Mega Corp. is a manufacturer of specialty vehicles and equipment used in global metal extraction and construction markets. The company was acquired by Federal Signal Corporation, a publicly traded provider of environmental and safety solutions, in an all-cash deal valued at $45.5 million, subject to post-closing adjustments. Mega generated approximately $40 million in revenue in 2024, and the transaction reflects a valuation of just over 1x trailing revenue.
