ExitAdvisor Blog

In 2009, Raman Sehgal started a small marketing company called Ramarketing. In 2015, frustrated with the company’s progress, Sehgal decided to analyze his business. 

That’s when he discovered something interesting. 

Ramarketing’s most valuable customers (low-maintenance, sticky, high gross margin, etc.) were in the pharmaceutical industry. Sehgal immediately pivoted the company to solely serve clients in the pharmaceutical supply chain. 

Focusing on big pharma worked. Ramarketing grew from $5…

There are many emotional issues that can make the process of selling a business very stressful.

The negotiations over the price is usually the big one, but there are many others.

Sellers are usually very concerned about what will happen to their employees.

Then there is the whole idea of leaving the company and moving to a new chapter in their life.

Sellers must know that it is common for the process to be filled with emotional ups and downs and must be prepared to deal with all those issu…

In 2001, Haroon Mokhtarzada and his brothers started Webs.com, which allowed anyone to build a professional website. Eager to grow the company, they decided to raise money from a venture capital firm – a decision Mokhtarzada would later regret.

They ultimately grew Webs.com to over 50 million users and sold it in 2011 to Vistaprint for over 10x revenue, totaling $117.5 million.

Hungry to start another company and learn from their mistakes, Haroon and his brothers began Truebill in 2015. The…

Why does it take so long to sell a business?

Business Owners must be aware that the process of selling a business is complex and can take time.

Each business is unique and there are many steps along the way --  particularly if the deal includes outside lender financing. If it shows strong cash flow, it usually will sell quicker.  And when the financials are clean and straight forward, it makes it much easier.

Business owners must prepare their business for sale so it looks attractive to buy…

It can be very discouraging when a buyer suddenly “disappears” from continuing the purchase of a business.

It happens all the time, and in many cases the seller never really finds out why.

The buyer could have a legitimate reason or have just gotten cold feet.

But also, the buyer may have received negative outside advice or doesn’t believe that the business is strong enough to overcome any uncertainties in the market or support servicing the debt.

A business owner must do a good job prepar…

Doctors in the developing world measure their progress not by the total number of children who die in childbirth, but by the infant mortality rate – a ratio of the number of births to deaths.

Similarly, baseball’s leadoff batters measure their “on-base percentage” – the number of times they get on base – as a percentage of the number of times they get the chance to try.

Acquirers also like tracking ratios, and the more ratios you can provide a potential buyer, the more comfortable they will …

When David Perry started his video game company, he filled a dartboard in his office with the names of companies he thought would want to buy his company, Gaikai, one day.

Why would a startup business with no revenue or employees be thinking about potential acquirers so early? For Perry, it comes down to something he refers to as “down-the-track thinking.”

Perry was recently interviewed about Sony’s $380 million acquisition of Gaikai, and he described his philosophy by using a moving trai…