How You Can Consider Exiting From the Start 🏁

Starting a company can be exciting, but it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget about the future. You might think "It's too early to worry about exiting." But, what if I told you that thinking about exit strategy from the beginning can actually benefit your business even before you exit?

Many first-time founders fall into the trap of building a business that revolves solely around their decisions and actions. They believe this is what it means to be a leader, but it's a dangerous misconception. When a product is closely tied to its founder, it becomes less appealing to potential buyers who want to lead the company themselves.

The key to creating an "exitable" company is to build a business that can thrive without your constant intervention. This not only makes your company more attractive to buyers, but it also sets you up for success in the long run.

Built to Sell is a business book that offers guidance on how to build a company that is attractive to potential buyers. It considers the case I've mentioned before and more. The main points made in the book are:

1. Building a business that is "built to sell" means creating a company that is attractive to potential buyers and can be sold for a good price.
2. To build a company that is "built to sell," you need to focus on creating a repeatable and scalable business model, rather than relying on the personal efforts of the owner.
3. One way to create a repeatable and scalable business model is to develop proprietary systems, processes, and intellectual property that can be easily replicated and used by others.
4. Another way to create a "built to sell" business is to diversify your customer base, so that you are not reliant on any one customer or group of customers for a significant portion of your revenue.
5. To increase the value of your company, you should also focus on building a strong management team that can run the business effectively without you.
6. To maximize the value of your company when you sell it, you should start planning for the sale early and consider bringing in outside advisors to help you with the process.

These are the main ideas of the book. I believe the ideas are powerful and useful.

In the book, there's a founder who didn't consider this aspect of their business while building it. Hence, he consults a friend who helps him step by step to make the business independent of the founder. The book is written as if it's fiction and it helps you understand the concepts better. I highly recommend you read it.

What is your favorite book related to exiting? Let us know in the comments!