Build and Exit

Imagine selling your business for 9 figures. Would you start imagining what you could do with it all before the deal is done? My guest in this episode not only imagined he started spending it. Only to find that half of it fell through between the letter of intent to the final deal. Alexis Sikorsky shares his journey of building and exiting a software company for a nine-figures. He discusses the ch...

There are simple things you can do to get your acquisitions completed faster.   So many people aren’t prepared in the way they should be, which dramatically slows down the process of buying or selling a business.   In this episode I am joined by Jamil Anakkar, the CEO of Tandy Ventures, who shares where he sees the massive opportunities in M&A right now.   Jamil outlines the challenges he face...

Is your business too dependent on you?  Far too many companies are lifestyle businesses that would fall apart without the owner.  This can jeopardise your exit, so detaching yourself from working in the business is essential.  In this episode I am joined by Michèle Hecken, who built, operated, scaled, and exited a successful business in the translation industry. After completing a high-7-figure ex...

How does it feel to sell your business to a multinational chain? Edin Basic did just that. Building his chain of restaurants up to 17 sites before selling it to Pizza Express. But when the deal was done, he didn’t go out celebrating, he was left with the feeling of “was that it?” For him the journey of building the business had been the real enjoyment of the whole process. He talks candidly about...

Are you intentional about scaling your business for exit?   So many organic business owners don’t have a plan and don’t know what the end goal is. If they did their loved ones would thank them so much more for doing things right when things passed onto them.   In this episode I speak with Rachel Murphy, a two-time exit founder, about her entrepreneurial journey and 8x multiplier exit.   Rachel giv...

Have you considered becoming an investor? The mindset you need differs significantly from being an operator of the business. One that my guest in this episode, Taha Afshar explores with us. Taha started his journey working in a family-run tea business to then make the shifts needed to diversify their income. He shares his experiences moving to the world of investments. Where he has now successfull...

The journey to business owner is never straight forward. In this episode that journey started due to my guest, David Longford, taking over the business from the owner just before he passed away. This transition from employee to business owner required respect and a focus on the long-term growth of the business. David talks about the process involved in taking over from an owner in these difficult...

How can customer service affect your business sale? Buyers looking at your business would have more confidence in their investment if they saw customer satisfaction was high. So, making sure you not only have satisfied customers but evidencing it is key. In this episode I am joined by customer service expert Geoff Ramm. He is the creator and author of Celebrity Service & Celebrity Service Supe...

Have you planned for the worst?   Imagine you’re at death’s door and know you have no plan for what will happen to your business if you die.   This is the exact experience one of my guest’s clients faced. And the worst did happen. Sadly, she passed with no plan for what would happen to the business once she was gone. Not a situation anyone wants to find themselves in.   In this episode I am joined...

What would you do to make your business a success?   Would it include jumping from a broken-down train to hitch hike to a product pitch?   Well, that’s what my guest in this episode did for an idea that didn’t even work out. Todd Sullivan grew up in an entrepreneurial household and has lived this way ever since. He is the CEO and Managing Partner of Exitwise, a company that helps businesses sell....

Selling a business comes with risks, but the buyer tyring to swindle you right at the end would challenge anyone’s nerve.   My guest in this episode, Sam Oliver, shares his experience of successfully selling his business and going through an earn-out clause. He discusses the challenges he faced when the buyer suddenly changed the processes at the last moment.   He shares what happened with dispute...

Gender bias exists when applying for funding in the venture capital industry.   It’s a fact, women are less likely than men to not only succeed in getting funding but for applying for it in the first place.   This disadvantage is something that has driven my guest in this episode, David B Horne, to help rectify. David is the Founder of Funding Focus, a social enterprise whose mission is to level t...

What’s the worst thing that could happen during an acquisition?   Up there at the top must be finding fraud from the seller.   Kemi Egan is my guest in this episode, and she found just this during one of her acquisitions. A seller was using a fraudulent pension scheme discovered by HMRC. Even then during the legal process the seller, and their defence have denied any wrongdoing despite evidence to...

Many sellers have no idea how resilient their business is going into the sale.   This can massively impact the final valuation of the business, but you can avoid this if you have things set up the right way to sell.   In this episode I am joined by Al Zucker a Lawyer that helps entrepreneurs and firms raise, acquire and exit successfully. He has seen a lot of bad deals, and he gives insights into...

You can cash out of your business tax free, so you get the amount you need to retire and support your family’s future.   The problem is many don’t know how to get there.   In this episode I am joined by Marc Adams, a visionary entrepreneur, acclaimed author, who explains how to do just that. Marc is an expert in business transformation, and as the CEO of Acquisitions 4 U, Marc specializes in helpi...

Acquisitions can be an opportunity to change your career.   But what if you quit your job and the deal falls through?   You’re left with no job and no deal.   This is exactly what happened to my guest in this episode, Steve Lawrence. The seller decided not to go ahead at the last-minute leaving Steve in the lurch.   Steve shares the ups and downs of his acquisition experience from his first failed...

Imagine not even knowing you are about to go bankrupt.   Many business owners don’t know what is going with their accounts. With £5 million pounds of debt and another £1 million in stocks that anyone could have taken, this was the reality for one business.   In this episode I am joined by Judith Hamilton and Christine Nicholson, 2 brilliant women working in the exit planning and financial world. W...

Most businesses are built from people’s dreams. The challenge is taking it from that dream to reality.   In this episode I am joined by Nigel Carley who has achieved this through creating The Pinelli Group, as he approached retirement. A company that sells properties in Italy through fractional ownership.   Nigel fell in love with Italy over his career with Alfa Romeo and through hard work and inv...

Financial freedoms means different things to everybody. Achieving it means living the life you want but imagine having it and then losing it all.   In this episode I am joined by Meena Adnani, who worked hard against the expectations those around her had. She was judged, because of being a woman and also because of her cultural background. All of which she blocked out to reach her dreams and achie...

Imagine going from waitress to financial freedom all through acquisitions.   That is exactly what my guest in this episode, Della Kirkman, achieved. She found a way to buy small businesses and grow them organically to build and exit. She is now on a mission to supports 10,000 women to build wealth through acquisition.   In this episode Della reveals how she achieved financial freedom through acqui...

Acquisitions would be far easier if all sellers were educated on what’s involved.   Knowing what happens post-acquisition is part of the learning that needs to happen to secure a successful deal.   In this episode Kush Birdi and I discuss the importance of KPI based target setting and why you should audit the legal aspects of your deals. We also share why being truthful is so important for the sel...

Imagine being in £100K of debt because of a scam.   This is a nightmare situation for any business owner who puts their trust into others and is exactly the position my guest, Kath Jones found herself in.   She is the founder of Think Wine Group and ended up losing £100K after her agent scammed her and the funding she got to salvage the situation never came through.   Kath shares how all of this h...

Not being aware of the financial or legal implications of a deal can have disastrous consequences.   From intellectual property protection, staffing issues to outstanding debts, there are many aspects of a deal that need to be checked as part of your due diligence.   In this episode Kush Birdi and I discuss where due diligence can impact deals and our personal experiences working with both sellers...

Heads of terms are a key aspect of any acquisition.   The buyer and seller need to agree on these to show serious intent for the deal. But there are many key issues both parties need to be aware of. In this episode Kush Birdi and I discuss our experiences working with heads of terms.   We also share how the buyer and seller can become aligned and why this is so important. The common problems that...

There are many risks to consider as a buyer in acquisitions.   Not being prepared can have severe consequences. You need to do your due diligence and plan every aspect to ensure its success.   In this episode I am joined by Kush Birdi to tell you all you need to know about the legal consequences buyers can face and how to ensure you are covered all the way through your acquisition process. From ri...