If you're building a business with the goal of eventually selling it , whether to private equity, a strategic acquirer or even a search fund, your exit won't depend just on how much money you make. It'll depend on how clean your business is.

Buyers are increasingly paying a premium for operational clarity: clean financials, structured operations and a team that's ready to scale. And the absence of these things? That's the fastest way to lose millions on valuation, even if you've built a profitable business.

Here's how to get exit-ready and a real example of a company that lost significant deal value simply because they weren't.

1. Clean beats clever: What buyers really want

We recently evaluated a fast-growing B2B SaaS company. On paper, it checked every box: over $1M in ARR, 70%+

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