When Ben Leonard sold Beast Gear—a strength and conditioning equipment brand he built from his spare room into a business generating $6 million in revenue—he thought he’d made the deal of a lifetime. He got 80% of the proceeds up front, agreed to a small earn-out, and became the face of Thrasio, the acquirer. Then things started to go sideways.
You’ve built a valuable company. Maybe you’re even thinking about selling. But what happens after the wire hits? In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Alex Bean, co-founder of Divvy, shares what it felt like to sell his company for $2.5 billion—and why the real challenges began after the deal closed. This conversation will help you think more strategically about what you’re really building—and how to avoid the regrets that often follow a big payday.
Most acquirers want you to stick around. Roll equity. Hit targets. Train your replacement. But there’s a different kind of buyer out there. One who wires 100% of the money at closing—and lets you walk. Dan Mytels represents this type of buyer. Through his firm, Salt Creek, he’s acquired 100 businesses—most of them mature, profitable, niche companies where the owner was ready to move on. They don’t always offer the highest multiple, but they do offer something many founders value more: a clean br...
When Doug Lowenthal discovered that $1 million in EBITDA was the minimum threshold acquirers looked for in his industry, he had a goal. Then he learned that managed service providers—businesses that offer outsourced IT support—were trading for 6–8× EBITDA. That’s when he realized he was building something truly valuable. But getting there required more than just strong financials. Doug had to rethink how he led his team, structured his business, and prepared for life after the deal....
Chang Kim—friends call him CK—sold his company Tapas for more than $500 million and walked away without an earn-out. Instead of jumping into his next venture, he did something few founders have the nerve to do: he took a year off. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, CK opens up about what life looks like when work becomes a choice, not a requirement. From cross-continental travel to difficult conversations with his kids about wealth, this is a rare, candid look at what happens after the wire...
Private equity firms are the most likely buyers for your business—and some do a fine job preserving what makes a company great. But many are financial engineers. They offer a generous multiple, then lever up the business, cut costs, and flip it within a few years. Longtime employees get let go. Culture erodes. You walk away with a check, but it can feel like selling out.
Most stories we cover involve eye-popping multiples or headline-making exits. They’re fun—but not always realistic. Jeff DeGarmo’s story is different. No private equity windfall. No tech hockey stick. Just a well-run, 20-person service business built over 16 years and sold for a solid 5.5x EBITDA.
Greg Alexander sold SBI, his 30-person consulting firm, for $162 million. Since then, he’s had a front-row seat to 50 other service firm exits through his peer group, Collective 54. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Greg breaks down what separates firms that sell from those that stall. This is a Mastering the Deal episode of Built to Sell Radio—designed to help you punch above your weight in a negotiation to sell your business.
What makes someone want to buy an “unsexy” business? Jon Pole has acquired 19 traditional radio stations. On paper, it’s an industry many assume is in decline. But for an experienced buyer like Pole, these deals are less about media trends and more about community, cash flow, and culture.
Sean McAuliffe didn’t invent anything. He was a distributor. If you lost your car keys and went to a locksmith to cut a new set, chances are your locksmith got the replacement key from Sean’s business. He bought cheap keys from Asia and sold them to locksmiths. Nothing fancy. Like so many businesses, Sean was a middleman. He'd never really thought about selling—didn't think anyone would want to buy it—but when a private equity group offered him millions, Sean realized he was sitting on a potenti...
What do acquirers really want? Sequoya Borgman has acquired 19 companies and exited two. He’s raised capital on a deal-by-deal basis, working outside the traditional private equity model. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Borgman explains how “independent sponsors” operate—and why more wealthy individuals are now pooling money to buy lower middle-market businesses. You discover how to:
When Garren Hilow helped start Abveris, he didn’t have much—just a background in sales, a co-founder with a Harvard PhD, and a stock option representing 16% of the company. Eight years later, he bought out his co-founder, bootstrapped the company with bank debt (collateralized by his house), and sold it in a stock deal that peaked at $190 million.
What would you do with $20 million? That’s the minimum amount required to join Tiger 21, the exclusive network where ultra-high-net-worth entrepreneurs learn how to preserve and grow their wealth. Michael Sonnenfeldt founded Tiger 21 after selling two companies and realizing that the skills that made him a successful entrepreneur didn’t translate into smart investing. He built the group to help other entrepreneurs avoid costly post-exit mistakes.
A new generation of buyers trained in Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) is looking for businesses like yours. Unlike private equity firms focused on roll-ups, ETA buyers are often searching for a single business to own and operate—making them a legitimate option for certain sellers.
For the first time ever, we recorded a Built to Sell Radio episode in front of a live audience at the Value Builder Summit—a gathering of mission-driven advisors dedicated to helping founders level the playing field as they approach their exit. Rob Walling has started, built, and sold multiple companies. As an investor and conference organizer, he’s seen hundreds of founders exit—some thriving, others struggling. He teamed up with Dr. Sherry Walling, a clinical psychologist specializing in suppo...
Kristie Shifflette built a 13-location Orangetheory Fitness empire from scratch—bootstrapping a capital-hungry business, personally guaranteeing leases, and taking on risk most founders wouldn’t touch. In the end, it paid off for Kristie and in this episode, you’ll discover how to: Bootstrap a capital-intensive business without giving up control Reduce your risk when taking on an investor Attract entrepreneurial employees who will care as much as you do Think about the $10 million milestone (and...
When Frank Shultz co-founded Infinite Blue, he and his partner split ownership 50/50. The business thrived, but their working relationship soured. Frank wanted to buy out his co-founder, but with a valuation in the eight figures, he faced a daunting question: where would he get the cash?
An earn-out is a deal structure where part of the sale price is contingent on the business hitting future performance goals. For many owners, it feels like a gamble—where the payout is uncertain, and the risks are high. But Bob Gilbreath flipped the script. He navigated two complex earn-outs across two service businesses and turned both into massive financial wins. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Bob shares how he turned the dreaded earn-out into his greatest asset....
Most founders focus all their energy on getting to an exit, but few stop to consider what comes next. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, John Rood shares what he learned after selling Next Step Test Prep to private equity—and why he decided to write Beyond the Exit.
When Kevin Wagstaff and his brother bootstrapped Spectora, a SaaS platform for home inspectors, with just $2,500 each, they never expected to one day face an $80 million acquisition offer. Spectora transformed the home inspection industry by replacing outdated paper reports with a digital platform that streamlined workflows, saved inspectors time, and enhanced the client experience. But when an acquirer attempted to re-trade the deal at the last minute—adding a $25 million seller’s note, a $10 m...
Selling your business to a Fortune 500 company is a dream for many founders. Strategic acquirers often pay the most because they can integrate your business into their larger ecosystem. It’s rare to pull off even once—Brock Weatherup has done it three times. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Brock reveals the strategies that helped him attract Fortune 500 buyers like PetSmart and Petco. This episode is a roadmap for anyone who wants to sell their business to a strategic acquirer....
That’s why we created the After the Deal series on Built to Sell Radio. This series explores life after selling a business—delving into the personal, financial, and emotional transitions that come when work becomes a choice, not a requirement. In this episode, we speak with Preston Holland, author of Private Jet Insider and an expert in private aviation. Preston shares why private jet travel isn’t just for celebrities and explains how business owners use private aviation to buy back their most v...
This week on Built to Sell Radio , John Warrillow interviews Blake Hutchison, CEO of Flippa, the world’s largest marketplace for buying and selling digital businesses. With experience overseeing thousands of real transactions, Blake offers a unique window into the minds of today’s acquirers.
Ben Landers built Blue Corona, an 8-figure digital marketing agency focused on home service businesses, into a data-driven powerhouse. When it came time to sell, Ben achieved something extraordinary: a clean exit with no earn-outs, a rare feat in the service business world where earn-outs are practically the norm.
Adam Kerrigan started as the owner of a managed service provider (MSP) business, which he built and eventually sold. After his exit, he joined the acquiring company to lead its M&A group, where he completed 16 deals and helped build a private equity-backed organization. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Adam pulls back the curtain on how acquirers often push for cashless deals, offering equity instead of cash—and how sellers can negotiate to ensure they get the deal they deserve....
As we gear up for 2025, I wanted to highlight the top strategies covered this past year on Built to Sell Radio . These insights are designed to help you increase the value of your business and position yourself for a successful exit.
Imagine personally guaranteeing millions in debt to fill a $28M order—only to have it yanked at the last minute. It nearly bankrupted founder Adi Gullia as well as Grace & Stella. Yet he overcame it all and sold at a 5.8x EBITDA multiple.
In this week’s episode of Built to Sell Radio, John Warrillow interviews Kaelon Egan, the founder of AccelaSchool, who successfully sold his company to PowerSchool—a giant in the K-12 education technology space. For most founders, the ultimate dream is to sell to a strategic acquirer: a well-funded, industry leader with deep pockets. Egan shares exactly how he positioned his company to become a natural acquisition target, avoiding common pitfalls along the way.
James Ashford built GoProposal with a clear goal: to sell. From designing the logo with potential acquirers in mind to rallying his team around the vision, James executed his plan with precision. The result? An eight-figure sale to Sage, a FTSE 100 company. But what happened after the deal? In this week’s Built to Sell Radio, part of our After the Deal series, James opens up about life post-exit. Selling a company can bring financial freedom, but as James reveals, it also comes with unexpected c...
