The Founder’s Exit Readiness Guide
A guide to preparing yourself and your business for sale.
Selling a business is one of the most significant decisions a founder will face.
It’s also one of the most complex, not just commercially, but personally.
What you want from a sale, what the business needs to look like to achieve it, and what comes after are questions that si at the centre of everything that follows.
Most exit planning content focuses on the business. This guide addresses both the commercial preparation that determines what a business is worth to a buyer, and the personal preparation that determines whether a founder gets the outcome they genuinely wanted.
“A business that’s built for sale is a better business. It doesn’t mean you have to sell it, but it’s a better business. So start early, take some advice, learn from colleagues, talk to some buyers and see what they’re looking for. Think about the business from their perspective. That helps.”
- Dan Egerton, CEO, Actus Consulting
This guide will help you prepare for a sale. It covers what buyers look for, what needs to be in place before a process begins, and what the journey will ask of you personally as well as commercially. Throughout, Tura’s direct experience of advising on transactions is complemented by the perspectives of founders who have been through a sale themselves.
“The decision to sell isn’t just commercial.
Part of our job as advisers is to help founders separate the commercial objectives from the personal ones, understand what their options are, then find where the two align and where they can be traded off.
The best possible outcome is a deal that satisfies both.”
— Bruce Green, Managing Director, Tura Advisory
What this guide covers, and what it changes for you
The five sections of this guide cover the ground that matters most when planning your exit:
Understanding your objectives: What you want from a sale - not just the price, but what comes after - shapes every decision that follows. Get clear on this before a buyer asks.
Understanding your options: Trade sale, private equity, de-risk or full exit. Knowing the landscape before you go to market means you choose the right conversation, not just the first one available.
Building your team: A sale process runs in parallel with running the business. This section sets out who you need around you, both internally and externally, and how the quality of that team directly affects the outcome.
Diagnosing your strengths and weaknesses: Buyers assess your business across five areas: growth, profit, clients, people, and offer. Understanding where you stand before they do is the foundation of meaningful preparation.
Where to start: Exit readiness looks different depending on how far you are. This section sets out where to focus and when.
What you’ll gain is a clear picture of what good preparation looks like and a practical sense of where to focus.
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