Built to Sell Radio

Ronan Berder built Wiredcraft to 140 people, then sold to Publicis for a reported 67 million euros. This Exit Story traces the moment he walked away from Techstars and a product dream to double down on services—and why that decision paid off.

Most owners want 100% cash at closing. Most acquirers want the opposite—they try to hold back as much as possible and tie it to future results. That tug-of-war defines the negotiation. In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio, you discover how to turn common transition structures from potential pitfalls into opportunities for upside.

What happens when it's time to sell? Every acquirer looks at your business differently. In this special episode of Built to Sell Radio, John Warrillow breaks down the four most common buyer profiles and explains how each thinks about acquiring a company. Along the way, you'll hear clips from past guests from our Inside the Mind of an Acquirer series.

Dan Berger built Social Tables into a SaaS success story with $20M in recurring revenue and more than 6,000 customers. He sold the business for $100 million. But after raising $27M in venture funding and navigating liquidation preferences, his personal payout was just under $20M. In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio, Dan reveals the surprising math behind his deal and shares the emotional highs and lows of walking away from his company.

Adam Rossi built a 250-employee software company serving law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They routinely beat Lockheed Martin in head-to-head bids. Then a banker came back with five acquisition offers — each at the "absurd" number Adam and his wife had thrown out as a hypothetical. The winning bid came from SRA International, a publicly traded defense contractor, for a price that created generational wealth for his family. Adam took all cash and walked away with no earn-out. But as Adam discovered, the hard part wasn't negotiating the deal — it was figuring out what to do after it closed.

Unlike most tech founders, Josh Payne never dreamed of a billion-dollar valuation. His goal was simpler—and harder. He wanted his equity stake to be worth $50 million. To get there, he skipped the usual playbook. No blitzscaling. No VC treadmill. He raised a small seed round, built a profitable company, and avoided dilution. By the time he sold StackCommerce, Payne still owned 75%—and hit his number.

Most founders measure success by the price they get for their company. David Hauser did that—he built Grasshopper to $30M Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and sold it for $175M – almost 6 times revenue. He and his partner owned the majority of the shares so the deal was life-changing for Hauser. But what makes this interview different is what Hauser did next: he crossed the table to become an investor and now acquires businesses through Durable Capital. It's a study in contrasts. As a founder, Hauser chased growth. As an investor, he's ruthlessly disciplined. He mocks the PE herd chasing home services roll-ups and avoids auction-driven deals. Drawing on his experience founding Grasshopper and Mark Cuban-backed Chargify, he outmaneuvers ETA buyers and first-time acquirers with quiet, direct, close-ready offers. This is a rare window into how someone who's built and sold a business thinks about buying one—and what makes a deal attractive from the other side.

After selling When Rich Galgano was 25, he left a sales job in wire distribution to start Windy City Wire. Within nine months, he was doing over $1 million in sales—while fighting a lawsuit from his former employer. Fast forward 30 years, and Galgano had built the dominant low-voltage cable distributor in the U.S., sold it for just under half a billion dollars, and stayed on as CEO.

When Ryan Atkinson sold CORE Resources to 24 Seven, it wasn't his first exit. After selling Redwood Global in 2014, Ryan played a different role in his next venture—injecting $2 million of his own capital while his partner ran the business day-to-day. The model worked. They grew CORE Resources into a go-to firm for specialized technology talent solutions and ultimately sold the company to 24 Seven—one of the largest privately held marketing, creative, and digital talent firms in North America—in an eight-figure exit. In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio, Ryan shares how they structured the deal, avoided resentment, and nearly lost the sale in the final hours.

Negotiating the sale of your company may be the highest-stakes conversation of your life. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, part of our Mastering the Deal series, you'll learn how to stay composed when everything you've built is on the table. Christopher Hadnagy, author of Human Hacking, teaches elite military units and Fortune 500 companies how to negotiate using psychological insights. In this conversation, he shares how founders can use the same tools to level the playing field with sophisticated buyers.

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 break.

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 hits.

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 potential goldmine.

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 supporting entrepreneurs, to codify what separates a successful exit from one that leaves an owner adrift. Their insights culminated in their new book Exit Strategy.

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 why it matters to private equity) Know when to take some chips off the table—and when to double down Ace management presentations with an acquirer Play hard to get (even when you want to sell) Get an acquirer to bump up their offer Max out an earn-out payment—even if you don't quite hit your targets Spot an acquisition offer that's likely to be re-traded

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 million earn-out, and a 36-month call option—Kevin learned a hard lesson: just because an offer is on the table doesn't mean the deal is done. The acquirer assumed Kevin and his brother would be too invested in the deal to walk away. But thanks to their advisor's guidance, they stood firm. The result? The acquirer backtracked, offering the original terms. Kevin and his brother still walked, ultimately selling a majority stake at a $90 million valuation to a better partner.

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 valuable asset: time.

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 challenges.

If you're a business owner, chances are buyers are considering your industry for a roll-up. From veterinary clinics to auto body shops, pharmacies to advertising agencies—you name the industry, there's probably a private equity firm looking to roll it up. This week's episode is part of our Inside the Mind of an Acquirer series, where we dive into the strategies and motivations of different types of buyers. Jordan Dubin, co-founder of Guild, shares how he raised $35 million to create a roll-up of garage door companies and reveals what he looks for in a potential acquisition.

What does it take to turn nightlife into big business? Med school dropout Shane Neman cracked the code on the nightclub industry, transforming its back office into a finely tuned, revenue-generating machine. From pioneering one of the first SMS platforms for small businesses to setting up his companies for top-dollar exits, Shane shares the technical strategies that turned his ideas into high-value assets.

Few founders exemplify resilience like Mike Fata, co-founder of Manitoba Harvest. Growing up in a single-parent, low-income household, Fata dropped out of school in grade 10, struggled with health issues, and found himself weighing 300 pounds by age 18. A life-changing commitment to health led him to discover hemp as a nutritional powerhouse, sparking his path to founding Manitoba Harvest and building it into one of North America's leading hemp food companies. In his interview on Built to Sell Radio, Mike dives into the journey that saw him go from construction worker to the sale of Manitoba Harvest to Tilray for $419 million.

When Carrie Kelsch was encouraged to start a garage door business back in 2004, she had no experience in the industry. By 2022, her company, A Plus Garage Doors, was generating $35 million in revenue with 30% EBITDA margins. This week on Built to Sell Radio, host John Warrillow shares Carrie's journey—from her first steps in the home services industry to the personal tragedy that ultimately pushed her to consider selling.

Pete Neubig started his entrepreneurial journey buying $35,000 houses with small down payments. After amassing 60 homes, he realized there was more money in managing properties for others. Pete shifted focus to building a property management company, handling maintenance and rent collection for over 1,000 homes, and eventually sold the business for $4.6 million or 1.75 times recurring revenue to an industry giant.

In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Jim Lindstrom discusses how he acquired BuzzWord, a company specializing in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting. Lindstrom explains how he built a killer culture by transforming contractors into full-time employees and incentivizing them with a two-part profit-sharing scheme focused on cash flow and EBITDA, setting the business up for future sale.

Luke Peters started off by reselling everyday appliances like bar fridges online. Eventually he built a brand and shifted to selling his products on big e-commerce retailers. Peters grew NewAir to $80 million in revenue before selling it for a lifechanging windfall in 2022.

Matt Ebert's path to founding Crash Champions didn't start with a grand plan—it began with a car wreck. At 16, he found himself needing to fix his own car, sparking an unexpected passion that led to building one of the largest collision repair companies in the United States.

Aaron Levenstadt built Pedestal Search into a business worth selling by mastering one thing: SEO. While clients tempted him to offer other services, Aaron knew the real value lay in doing one thing better than anyone else. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Aaron shares how focusing on one service helped him stand out in a crowded market and achieve a successful exit.

Jessica DeLuca co-founded Cult Beauty in 2008, creating one of the UK's leading online beauty retailers. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Jessica reveals the path that led her to selling the business for £275 million to The Hut Group (THG). DeLuca's background in tech shaped the business, with her love for data and precision leading to a meticulously curated platform. Frustrated by the lack of unbiased information in the beauty industry, she built a database of expert advice, allowing customers to search products tailored to their needs—an approach that set Cult Beauty apart from the competition.