Built to Sell Radio

Jeff Archibald founded Paper Leaf , a company specializing in developing websites, mobile apps and custom software . By offering a narrow scope of services to a variety of verticals, Paper Leaf built a reputation for handling challenging projects that generalist agencies couldn't . Jeff's commitment to simplicity and effective forecasting played a significant role in Paper Leaf's success. He used...

Nicole Osmer is the founder and president of Health+Commerce, a public relations and marketing agency for companies in medtech, biotech, and digital health. Nicole grew Health+Commerce from $1M to $10M in annual revenue over seven years.      Along the way, Nicole received an acquisition offer that seemed too good to be true. It turned out it was, and the deal fell apart. Nicole picked up the piec...

In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio, John Warrillow interviews Michael Lynch, the creator of TinyPilot , a hardware device that allows users to remotely control their computers without installing any software.   Like most small companies, TinyPilot was a Main Street business with around $1 million in revenue and roughly $250,000 in profit, so Michael's story is a revealing snapshot of a...

In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio , John Warrillow interviews Kiri Masters, founder of Bobsled Marketing. Kiri's marketing agency specialized in helping companies merchandise their products on sites like Amazon. com and Walmart.com .   K iri successfully transformed a significant social media following into a valuable company.

In this week's Built to Sell Radio episode, John Warrillow interviews David Sinkinson, co-founder of AppArmor . David and his brother Chris created a mobile app that allows students to alert campus security by pressing a single button on their phones. Their journey from developing AppArmor to selling their company for $40 million is packed with insight.   During the interview, you'll discover how...

Have you considered the psychological toll of building your business?     In this week's Built to Sell Radio episode, John Warrillow sits down with Bill Hudenko , a psychologist, Dartmouth professor, and serial entrepreneur, to discuss the psychological impact of building and exiting a business. Bill shares his personal journey through multiple exits and offers insights into the mental health chal...

In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio, we are joined by Tom Deans, a renowned expert on family business transitions and the author of the trilogy, Every Family's Business, Willing Wisdom, and The Happy Inheritor. Drawing from his extensive experience, Tom shares invaluable strategies to help you navigate the complexities of selling a family business.  

This week on Built to Sell Radio, we feature Connor Tomkies , founder of Support Ninja, who shares his story of transforming an outsourcing firm into an industry leader. Support Ninja provides outsourced customer support services, handling tasks such as customer experience, social media management, and technical support.  

In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio , we are joined by Ilya Strebulaev, a leading expert on venture capital and private equity and author of The Venture Mindset . Drawing from his extensive research and teaching at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, Strebulaev shares strategies to help you think like a venture capitalist and make smarter business decisions.

Today's episode of Built to Sell Radio features Anne Mahlum, a fearless entrepreneur who redefined the fitness industry. After wandering into a Pilates studio in L.A. and thinking, "I can do this better," Anne threw all her savings—$175,000—into launching her own version of the company, founding [ solidcore ], a fitness powerhouse that she later sold for $100 million.   Anne shares her remarkable...

This episode of Built to Sell Radio features Matt Dixon, author of the global bestseller, The Challenger Sale . Dixon became the de facto leader of the sales training world when Neil Rackham, author of "SPIN Selling," praised The Challenger Sale as "the most important advance in selling for many years." If you're wondering how to get your people to sell as well as you do, this is your master class...

T his episode of Built to Sell Radio , features Kevin O'Connor, a pioneer in digital advertising and founder of DoubleClick .   Kevin's vision transformed the online advertising industry, making DoubleClick a dominant force in digital marketing before its $3.1 billion acquisition by Google.  

In this episode of Built to Sell Radio , Seth Godin, a renowned entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker, shares insights gained from his experience, including selling his company, Yoyodyne, to Yahoo! He has authored 21 best-selling books, including notable titles like Permission Marketing, The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, This I s Marketing, and What t o Do When It ' s Your Turn (And...

In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio , we are joined by William Ury, the co-founder of the Harvard Program on Negotiation and the International Negotiation Network with former President Jimmy Carter. Drawing from his extensive experience in high-stakes diplomatic negotiations, Ury shares invaluable strategies to help you punch above your weight in a negotiation to sell your business. From...

Brian Dean has been called an SEO genius for his search engine optimization courses, so it probably shouldn't have been a surprise when Semrush, a publicly traded SEO software company, came knocking. What was surprising was that Semrush paid $5 million for Brian's one-employee company.

This week we're featuring an interview with John Rood, who built Next Step, a test prep business that helped students prepare for the medical school admissions test (MCAT). John Rood built Next Step to almost $10 million in revenue, with EBITDA margins ranging from 20–40% before selling to New Harbour Group, a private equity business doing a roll-up of test prep companies.   Although it was a fina...

This week we're bringing you an extraordinary story of resilience and determination as we delve into the lives of Payam and Frank Zamani. Starting their American dream with a mere $75, the brothers embarked on a venture that led to the founding of Autoweb, a groundbreaking lead generation service in the auto industry.   Autoweb's journey to success reached its zenith with an IPO that valued the co...

Ned MacPherson started helping clients optimize their websites back in 2016. Demand for Ned's time quickly outpaced supply, so he started building a team. Within seven years, Ned had 70 employees, more than $2 million a year in EBITDA, and multiple acquisition offers.

Jordan van Schyndel grew his service business to more than 30 employees without having anyone quit. He credits his unique culture for the loyalty of his team. Ultimately it was that team that caught the attention of Spiria, which offered to acquire van Schyndel's business. 

In 2015, 25-year-old Alexx Leyva was traveling around Thailand when a shocking phone call brought him back to the United States to take over his father's $3 million business. Over the next five years, Alexx and his brothers tripled the company and ended up selling it for more than $20 million.

In recent years, "entrepreneurship through acquisition" courses at Ivy League MBA programs have surged in popularity, outshining traditional classes in marketing or corporate finance. This trend reflects a shift in aspirations among students, many of whom now prioritize acquiring a business over roles in consulting or banking.   As a business owner, you're likely to encounter increased interest fr...

When it comes to your endgame, what's your highest priority? Do you want to maximize your personal wealth and walk away? Or do you want to de-risk but keep some chips on the table? Or is your highest priority protecting your culture, your employees, and the legacy you have built? If your goal is to protect your culture, then selling to an individual investor may be worth considering.   In this epi...

An astasia Koroleva is an exp erienced entrepreneur and former technology company CEO. After her first nine-figure exit, she went on to start three more businesses. Today she is the host of the podcast, Exit Paradox , where she talks to some of the most remarkable founders in the world about the lessons they learned about life after selling a business. This episode will help you design your ideal...

Michael Lieberman built Datastay, a software company that helped brake manufacturers and distributors catalog their models. The application proved sticky with parts manufacturers, which is why Autodesk made an acquisition offer for Datastay of more than ten times its revenue despite Datastay having just nine employees at the time of the acquisition.

Adam Coffey spent 21 years as a CEO of three national service companies backed by nine private equity sponsors. During that time, he completed 58 acquisitions and generated more than one billion dollars of value at exit. Adam's book, The Private Equity Playbook , is a bestseller, and on this episode of Built to Sell Radio 's "Inside the Mind of an Acquirer" series, Adam teaches a masterclass on ho...