Most founders think there is one way to sell a business. Get the highest multiple, take the money, and move on. Mark Ferrier thinks that framing is what gets founders into trouble.
Ferrier has been on both sides of the table. He sold his marketing company to a private equity firm, spent two years helping them acquire seven businesses, then launched his own private investment company to buy service businesses. What he has learned is that founders fall into one of three categories — and the category you are in should drive everything about how your deal is structured.
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Transactional founders want a clean exit. They want maximum cash at closing, a short transition, and a simple structure. Ferrier says these deals tend to sit at the lower end of the multiple range, with a portion paid over time through a vendor take-back. The priority is simplicity and speed.
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Transitional founders still care about their people, their culture, and the community the business operates in. They want out, but not tomorrow. They need to know the business will be in good hands before they hand over the keys. These deals involve more term, more alignment on values, and tools like phantom equity to keep the founder engaged through the transition.
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Transformative founders are not going anywhere. They have ideas they never had the capital or bandwidth to execute, and they want a partner who can help them do it. These deals sit at the higher end of the multiple range and typically involve the founder retaining equity and continuing to run hard alongside the buyer.
The problem, Ferrier says, is that most founders do not know which category they are in — and buyers can tell. He uses two questions to find out. The first: if you had the money today, what would you do with it? A founder who cannot answer that question is probably not as transactional as they think. The second: would you sell to your biggest competitor for the same price? A founder who recoils at the idea still cares deeply about what happens to the business — and deserves a deal structured accordingly.
Ferrier also talks openly about losing 8 to 14 percent of his own deal proceeds because he did not fully understand what would happen to his rolled equity if his buyer needed to exit at a lower valuation. It is a costly lesson about why the multiple is just the starting point.
The latest episode of Built to Sell Radio is worth your time if you are thinking about selling in the next few years — and especially if you have not yet figured out which of the three types of sellers you actually are.
Quote of the Week
Which one actually are you? If I can ask you the questions that make you realize, maybe while you’re driving in your car, my god, I’m totally that type of founder — we can get to a better structure.
Deals
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Talkspace, a company that provides online therapy and psychiatry services through a network of licensed mental health professionals, has been acquired by Universal Health Services for approximately $835 million. Talkspace connects patients with therapists virtually and works with roughly 6,000 clinicians serving all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The company generated $229 million in revenue in 2025 and delivered more than 1.6 million therapy and psychiatry sessions during the year, implying a valuation of roughly 3.6x revenue.
