Built to Sell Intel - July 2021
On this month’s episode of Built to Sell Intel, John will be sharing key insights from the latest group of entrepreneurs interviewed on Built to Sell Radio.
John recaps his favorite anecdotes in this monthly live broadcast, highlighting helpful strategies and transferable lessons.
4 Big Takeaways on Building the Value of Your Company
This week, we’re back with the latest Intel edition of Built to Sell Radio. We feature four recent guests and dissect what made their companies built to sell.
3 Ways to Untangle Yourself from Your Business
Debbie King was running on a treadmill so familiar to service company owners. Her company, Association Analytics, helped associations make sense of their member data, and she was wasting time on proposals that often did not get accepted. Then, when King did win a project, she was creating a custom solution for every job that required her to hire senior-level staff and personally get involved in client work. The model put a cap on her business, and when she reached 20 employees, she decided it was time to get out.
Business Exit Lessons Learned After Interviewing Hundreds of Entrepreneurs
Listen now to hear the lessons Bo Burlingham has learned after interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs regarding their business exit.
One Company, Two 8-Figure Exits
Ed Buckley started Peerfit, which allows companies to offer fitness classes as part of their employee benefits package. The company grew to more than 150 employees before receiving an acquisition offer for almost $100 million from a major fitness brand widely reported to be Peloton. Buckley retained some of the IP, which, in a strange twist, he was able to sell in another eight-figure exit months later.
Selling Your Side Hustle
Jeremy Nagel started his entrepreneurial career teaching clients how to get the most out of Zoho, a popular CRM platform. Nagel began cultivating a small following on YouTube by sharing his advice for Zoho enthusiasts.
Given his status in their ecosystem, Zoho approached Nagel about creating an SMS plug-in for their application to allow users to text their clients while using Zoho. Nagel developed the application while keeping his day job. Despite only dedicating one or two days a week to its growth, the feature quickly became one of the top five applications in the Zoho marketplace.
Selling For a Truckload
In 2015 Josh Davis and a friend decided to start Speedee Transport, a trucking company specializing in shipping products that need to be refrigerated.
Within three years of starting the business, they had grown from two to over forty-five employees, and an acquirer approached them. This kicked off an emotionally draining—and financially rewarding—journey to sell Speedee.
How to Avoid Seller’s Remorse
Rory Fatt began his entrepreneurial journey running marketing seminars for restauranteurs. After several owners approached Fatt to do their marketing for them, he decided to launch Royalty Rewards in 2005.
The business was a multimedia marketing platform that helped small businesses market their products and services by rewarding loyal customers. The company took off, hitting just over $2 million in revenue in its first year.
Inspired to achieve financial freedom, Fatt began to explore selling his company. In 2022, he accepted an offer from Schianti Partners that would set his family up for life.
The Shotgun Breakup
Back in 2006, Michael Kaplan and his partners bought into a Zerorez Carpet and Living Surfaces Care franchise. The business was generating $300,000 in revenue and losing $40,000 a year.
By 2019, the company was generating $17 million in revenue when Kaplan and his partner had an irreconcilable dust-up which led to Kaplan triggering their shotgun partnership agreement.
Are you stacking a few Benjamins?
, a personal finance podcast. Sehy’s journey was unusual: he started as a financial advisor, building a firm with $65MM in assets under management until he received a letter prompting him to sell.
Getting Acquired Doesn't Have to Be a Blood Sport
Our show is all about maximizing your take from the sale of your business. We’re about helping the seller outmaneuver the buyer to maximize the seller’s take from an exit. We think it’s a noble cause, but every once in a while, a guest reminds us that selling a business doesn’t have to be so confrontational.
The Inside Story of Stripe’s Acquisition of Indie Hackers with Co-Founder Channing Allen
In 2016 Channing Allen and his brother Courtland founded Indie Hackers, a blog and forum that encourages founders to transparently share their ideas and stories.
After only eight months, the brothers had grown the business to $8,000 in revenue when they received an unexpected email from Patrick Collison (co-founder and CEO of Stripe), who was looking to acquire the company.
Although tempted to keep building, Stripe’s offer was too good to refuse. The brothers agreed to be acquired by Stripe in March 2017.