Built to Sell Radio

Jason Swenk sold his marketing agency in 2011. Since then, he's transitioned to the role of an acquirer, purchasing nine agencies. With experience on both sides of the negotiating table, Jason reveals his unique perspective on how to sell your service business. 

Joe Khoubbieh is the Chief Investment Officer at Valsoft, one of the most prolific acquirers of software companies in the last few years. In 2023 alone, Valsoft completed 25  acquisitions in 10 countries. In total, Valsoft has acquired 95 companies and paid the founder 100% of their proceeds in cash in all 95 deals.   In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio, we get inside Joe's head and find...

In this episode featuring Mark Zweig, we explore the aftermath of selling his company, The Zweig Group, to a private equity group. Zweig Group, known for serving the architecture industry with magazines, reports, and trade shows, achieved remarkable growth, landing three times on the Inc. 5000 list. At its peak, the company reached $19 million in revenue. However, Mark's sale to a private equity g...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all the rage these days, but do you remember the cannabis craze? Basem Hanna sure does. He rode that wave to perfection, leaving his cannabis startup with a cool $25 million and shares that could be worth double that one day. This week's episode of Built to Sell Radio is a no-holds-barred chat (yep, expect some strong language) about making it big in the green rush.

Aaron Leibtag cofounded Pentavere Research Group, a digital health company that identifies patients not receiving the medications or interventions they should be receiving because critical data is buried in a patient's electronic health record. Despite having just 15 employees, they attracted an acquisition offer that valued Pentavere at $15 million

This week on Built to Sell Radio, we highlight the top strategies from the 10 most popular shows of 2023. In this episode, you'll learn how to: ·         Grow your email list. ·         Compete with industry giants. ·         Replace yourself inside your business. ·         Implement a three part strategy for hiring high-potential employees. ·         Get your customers to fund your growth. ·     ...

If you've ever wanted to create recurring revenue inside your business you'll want to listen to today's episode of Built to Sell Radio. The show is the third in our three-part expert series and features a conversation between John Warrillow, the author of The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in any Industry, and Robbie Kellman Baxter, the author of The Membership Economy and Th...

Negotiating the sale of a business sale is intense and emotional for founders. Clear thinking is vital. In our second expert series installment, we feature Hasard Lee, a renowned clear-thinking expert. Lee, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, authored the international bestseller, The Art of Clear Thinking . This Wall Street Journal bestseller, #2 in U.S. business books, has been translated into multi...

This week we have a special treat: an interview about negotiating the sale of your business with Chris Voss, the bestselling author of Never Split the Difference . Chris used his many years of experience in international crises and high-stakes negotiations to develop a unique approach to negotiation and this week, he talks about how his approach applies to selling a business. Prior to starting his...

Kiran Merchant spent decades as a consultant to the aviation industry, so when a boss refused to grant him an $8,000 raise, he decided to leave his employer to start his own aviation consulting firm. Eighteen months later, he sold Merchant Aviation to Aeroport de Paris, one of the largest aviation companies in the world for a high single digit multiple of EBITDA.

Greg Romanzo and his partners spent 17 years growing a freight forwarding business. As the company expanded to 200 employees, the partners faced a realization: their decisions now impacted 200 families. This responsibility became overwhelming, and they decided to sell.

Chip Conley built the world's second largest boutique hotel chain to 3500 employees, but after a near death experience, Chip realized he wanted out. Chip went on to become Airbnb's Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, where he mentored co-founder Brian Chesky. Conley went on to create MEA -- the Modern Elder Academy -- the world's first 'midlife wisdom school'.

Jason Cohen is the founder of both SmartBear and WP Engine, both companies that have achieved a valuation of more than $1 billion, making them "unicorns" in the parlance of Silicon Valley. This is our first installment in a series we're referring to as Legends of the Deal , which will chronicle the life lessons of extraordinary achievers in the world of value building.

Josh Anhalt started GreenPath Energy in 2007 to help oil and gas companies detect methane leaks in their pipes. Over the years, Josh tried and failed to sell his company three times only to have each deal thwarted for a different reason.  By 2023 GreenPath was generating more than $8 million in revenue when they finally agreed to be acquired by a competitor for around 7 times EBITDA, 90% of which...

Chad Maghielse treats his two French bulldogs like family. When their breath turned foul, he invented a dog breath spray. Within three years, he was making over $2 million in online pet product sales at a 35% profit margin. Then he sold his business.

Jay B Sauceda built a logistics company that helped brands like Howler Brothers ship online orders. At their peak, Sauceda's company had a 150,000 square foot warehouse, 150 employees and was on track to hit $14 million in annual sales when a fateful meeting at an industry conference led Cart.com to make an acquisition offer Sauceda couldn't refuse. 

This week, we continue our series called Inside the Mind of an Acquirer . We started this special series of interviews with acquirers because we want you to understand the perspective of the person across from you in a negotiation to buy your business. This week, we sat down with Bakari Akil, who has acquired two $30 million businesses and now teaches Cornell MBA candidates about entrepreneurship...

Mark Ferrier founded the marketing agency TRAFFIKGROUP and grew it to over $2M in EBITDA before agreeing to be acquired by the private equity group Onex in an eight-figure exit.  Mark decided to sell when a friend revealed that most founders end up wishing they had sold 50% sooner for 25% less.

Mark Ferrier built the marketing agency TRAFFIKGROUP to more than $2 million of EBITDA before it was acquired by the private equity group Onex in an eight-figure exit. In this first of a two-part interview, Mark shares the story of how he got started in the marketing agency world and how a rift with his former partners left him on the wrong end of a $2 million lawsuit.

When Jon Cross founded Pondera Solutions in 2011, his goal was to reduce fraud in U.S. government programs like Medicaid and Unemployment Insurance. By 2020, Cross and his partners had built Pondera to more than $9 million in annual recurring revenue when they received an offer from Thomson Reuters for a reported $124 million. 

In 2017 Lloyed Lobo and his partner, Alex Popa, founded Boast, a software application designed to simplify the process of applying for research and development tax credits. The bootstrapped company struck a chord with customers that found the process of applying for R&D tax credits cumbersome. By 2020 Lobo and Popa had built Boast to more than $5 million in revenue when they agreed to a $23 millio...

At the age of 41, Rob Walling sold Drip, an email marketing software for enough money that he "would never have to work again". His only problem? Figuring out what to do next. In this special edition of Built to Sell Radio, we explore how to re-define your purpose and find happiness and fulfillment after you exit your business

Sarah Dusek and her husband started Under Canvass, which offered large-scale tented hotels (think "glamping") outside national parks around the U.S. The business got off to a successful start, and within five years, Dusek had four locations, which were collectively generating $3 million in EBITDA. Rather than sit still, Dusek decided she wanted to grow much larger and raised $16 million of capital...

In 2015, Michia Rohrssen co-founded   a SaaS business called Prodigy to help car dealerships sell on line . He grew the company to $3.3M in annual revenue when he faced a difficult decision .    Rohrssen thought he could sell Prodigy for around 4-6 times revenue, but after paying off his investors, there would n't b e much left over for the founde rs . Th at's when he decided to make a risky pivot...

Casey Cav e ll has plenty of party stories: he dropped out of college to become a professional poker player, tried his hand (successfully) at buying self-storage facilities a nd apartment complexes, and eventually found his way to the business of baseball. More specifically, a franchised baseball academy for 5-10 year olds that he grew to five locations .     Cav e ll essentially managed two exits...