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On this month's episode of Built to Sell Intel, John will be sharing key insights from the latest group of entrepreneurs interviewed on Built to Sell Radio.

John recaps his favorite anecdotes in this monthly live broadcast, highlighting helpful strategies and transferable lessons.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz will be back in the pilot’s seat for our conversation on:
• Shawn Finder’s email marketing platform, AutoKlose, and why he had to negotiate so hard to meet in the middle of two very different valuations.
• How Dave & Carrie Kerpen grew one of the first social media agencies, Likeable Media, by productizing their service and naming everything.
• Eytan Wiener’s story behind Quantum Networks and how their three-pronged sales approach grew top-line revenue to $30 million. 
• How to avoid the same situation Sebastian Johnston found himself in when talking with potential acquirers for fashion eCommerce app, TheAmazeApp.

Built to Sell Radio

Built to Sell Intel - July 2021

Robert Glazer started an affiliate marketing agency called Acceleration Partners in 2007. Glazer never took outside capital and grew Acceleration to almost $28 million in sales before he sold a majority interest to Mountaingate Capital in 2020. 

This is the second installment of a two-part interview with Glazer (grab part one here: https://builttosell.com/radio/episode-325/). In this episode, we ask him to wear his acquirer’s hat. Glazer has spoken with more than one hundred owners in the last couple of years and speaks passionately about the “unforced errors” owners make when negotiating with an acquirer.

Specifically, you’ll learn how to:
• Know the “market-clearing” values in your industry.
• Decipher between interest and value.
• Present your financials to a buyer.
• How not to answer the question, “how much do you want for your business?”.
• Avoid the “Annie Syndrome”.
• Create competition for your business.

Ep 326 Robert Glazer - Inside the Mind of an Acquirer

Touraj Parang has experienced the highs and lows of selling a company. 

In 2009, Parang sold his first company, Jaxtr, for pennies on the dollar. He took the lessons he learned and joined Webs.com, where he helped Haroon Mokhtazarda sell his company for over $115 million. 

Parang left Webs.com and joined GoDaddy as a leader in their acquisitions group, where they acquired dozens of companies during his tenure. 

In the latest installment of Inside the Mind of An Acquirer, Parang shares how companies like GoDaddy acquire companies.

Ep 347 6 Things to Know Before Approaching an Acquirer - Touraj Parang

Most of our Built to Sell Radio episodes have been success stories but this week’s show is a cautionary tale of what happens when you don’t plan ahead. It features Dan Bradbury, a young entrepreneur who was growing a successful business right up until the day he had a cycling accident and ended up in a coma.

Bradbury made a full recovery after seven months, but his business didn’t make out as well. It suffered in his absence, and instead of committing to build it back up upon his recovery, Bradbury decided to sell it, reasoning he needed to safeguard his family’s finances should anything bad happen again. After a long search, Bradbury found a buyer but the offer he received revealed his weakened negotiating position.You’ll hear Bradbury's cautionary tale along with:

- How to build leverage into your negotiations.
- Why you need a BATANA (Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement) when exiting your business.
How you can you-proof your business.
How you can use accretive value to your advantage.

Ep. 69 A Cautionary Tale

Rajiv Kumar and Brad Weinberg started ShapeUp, a software company designed around getting people to improve their health. Instead of going direct to consumers, they decided to license the platform to large Fortune 500 companies looking to reduce their insurance expenses by getting employees to improve their health.  

The partners sold 20% of the company for $300,000 in start-up capital and went on to raise five more rounds of capital at increasing valuations. They got the business up to $20 million in recurring revenue when they got a call from Richard Branson-backed Virgin Pulse.  

Kumar was able to gin up Virgin’s initial offer by 50% based on some savvy negotiation skills. In the episode, you’ll learn: 

The definition of fixed cost leverage.
Why you should start with pitching your worst investor first.
What "escape velocity" means and how it impacts your company’s valuation.
How optionality gives you negotiating leverage. 
When companies are bought vs. sold. 
The difference between an evergreen fund and one with a liquidity horizon.

Ep. 75 How Shapeup Got Richard Branson To Boost His Acquisition Offer By 50%

Peter Shankman started Help A Reporter Out (HARO) to connect experts with journalists who needed people to quote for stories. HARO sent a simple email three times a day to subscribers and because every email had the potential to be a reporter from a media outlet like The New York Times, the email open rates were close to 80%. Most days Shankman worked from his sofa with two employees helping him remotely.  

Within three years, Shankman was generating $1.5MM from selling simple text ads on his email blasts. That’s when Shankman’s largest advertiser approached him to buy HARO. In the episode you’ll learn: 

- the remarkable relationship between ADHD and entrepreneurship 
- the surprising upside of selling instead of scaling your business
- the truth about who is most likely to buy your business 
- the best way to find a strategic buyer for your company

Built to Sell Radio 

Ep. 80 From Start-Up To Exit In Three Years

The Mortgage Reports publishes information about mortgages for home owners. Site founder Dan Green, capitalized on the internet traffic they generated by selling leads to mortgage lenders. 

Within three years, Green crested a million dollars a year in annual revenue. That’s when he began to worry about new regulations and compliance as his business went from being a hobby to a major player in the mortgage leads industry. Green decided to sell and quickly got three offers from the companies he was selling leads to. 

The first offer was mostly cash. The second was for half cash and the other half “at risk” in an earn-out tied to meeting lead volume goals in the future. The third offer included a small payment up front with a rich potential earn-out if Green was able to send the acquirer enough quality leads. You may be surprised to learn which of the three offers Green picked.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

- The difference between being a core product and an add-on feature 
- The importance of breaking bread with your potential acquirer 
- What terms and conditions to include in an earn-out contract  
- How to vet a potential buyer when an earn-out is involved

Ep. 85 3 Acquisition Offers, 1 Surprising Decision

Nathaniel Broughton grew Spread Effect to a $4 million company in only four years -- so why would he sell for a rock bottom multiple?

Ep. 148 Getting Out Quick And Clean

Tom Pisello built Alinean, a consulting company which offered a set of tools to help salespeople express the value of picking their solution. The business was cruising with about half of its revenue coming from recurring licensing fees and the other half from consulting when disaster struck the Pisello’s family.

Built To Sell Radio

Ep 207 When Tragedy Strikes A Founder

Grant Munro started FlashStock in 2013 to help big companies produce content (photos, videos) for advertising campaigns. In 2015, Instagram exploded, and online marketers became desperate for more content, which helped fuel Munro's business from a handful of employees in 2014 to more than 100 in 2017. That's about when Munro agreed to sell FlashStock to Shutterstock for $65 million.

Ep 224 Inside Shutterstock's $65 Million Acquisition of FlashStock

Built to Sell Radio is a weekly podcast for business owners.  Each week, we ask a recently cashed out entrepreneur why they decided to sell, what they did right and what mistakes they made through the process of exiting their business.  Built to Sell Radio is the ultimate insider's guide to approaching the most important financial transaction of your life.  

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