Guest Appearance on Built to Sell Radio with John Warrillow.
I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with John Warrillow about my previous exit from a 20-person advertising agency. John is the author of Built to Sell, a best-selling book that focuses on teaching owners how to create a business that can thrive without them. The book was the genesis of the Value Builder System™ – an assessment to help owners evaluate their business readiness and then a suite of tools to unlock its value.
The Value Builder System™ is used by over 80,000 business owners and I use it as part of my business coaching practice to help businesses protect, grow, and realize the value of their companies.
Listen to the episode from May 9, 2025 here: Exit Story: Selling a 20-Person Agency for 5.5x EBITDA
In this episode, you discover how to:
- Structure a multi-partner business for an exit
- Move from marketing budgets into operational spending
- Navigate conflicting goals between co-founders
- Use recurring revenue to create financial stability
- Avoid getting burned in an earn-out
- Sell to a sophisticated acquirer without losing your shirt
- Exit without fireworks—and still win
If you’re building a service business and want to know what a normal exit looks like, this episode is worth your time.
