Most founders have a number in their head.
For some it’s $5 million. For others it’s $10 million, or $20 million, or $50 million. Whatever the figure, the logic is the same. Hit the number, park it in something safe, live off 4%, and finally feel free.
Ret Taylor had a number too. When his natural remedies company, Ned, was valued at $32 million, he was close enough to taste it. Then the market shifted. His number dropped to $10 million, then $6 million, then a figure he won’t say on the record that was a fraction of what he once thought Ned was worth.
What’s striking about Ret’s story isn’t that he settled for less. It’s that he got to a place where the number stopped mattering at all. He sold Ned, walked away with a fraction of what he’d once imagined, and now says he’s making more money as a mountain guide and spiritual healer than he did running the company. More importantly, he says he feels free for the first time in his life.
Plenty of founders hit their number and don’t feel what they thought they’d feel. Far fewer miss their number by a wide margin and feel genuinely free.
In this week’s episode, Ret describes the exact moment, at 18,000 feet on Denali, when he let go of the number.
Quote of the Week
My number was $30 million. Then it turned into $10 million. Then it turned into $6 million. And then I surrendered on that mountain.
Deals
Naveris, a blood-based cancer monitoring company that detects tumor DNA in the bloodstream to help diagnose and track HPV-driven cancers, was acquired by CareDx for $160M upfront (plus up to $100M in milestone payments). Naveris reported $34M in 2025 revenue, implying an acquisition multiple of roughly 4.7x revenue on the upfront consideration.
