Exit planning / Value acceleration
Build a business worth buying, then sell it on your terms.
For owners of businesses doing $5M to $100M in revenue who are two to five years from a transition. We raise the value of the business first, so the sale is the easy part.
Advisor, not broker. No success fees.
Value statement
Pre transition
Owner dependence
Reduced
Recurring revenue
Built
Customer concentration
Diversified
Buyer discount risk
Removed
Transferable value
Higher
Buyer side experience
Prepared by someone who has evaluated the deal from the buyer’s chair.
RockStack is led by a Certified Exit Planning Advisor who has sat on the buyer side of the table. The people who write the check evaluate risk, not potential.
CEPA
Certified Exit Planning Advisor
Credentialed in the Value Acceleration Methodology used by the Exit Planning Institute.
Corporate
Acquisition team experience
Evaluated and diligenced acquisition targets from inside corporate development teams.
PE
Recapitalization equity partner
Held equity through a private equity recapitalization and saw how value is judged at close.
Advisor / Broker
An advisor is not a broker
A broker is paid to close a transaction. An advisor is paid to make the business worth more before any transaction exists. The incentives are different, and so are the outcomes.
Dimension
Business Broker
RockStack Advisor
How they are paid
Success fee on the sale, typically a percentage of deal value.
Fixed and retainer fees for the work performed. No success fee.
When they engage
Once you are ready to sell, often within months of listing.
Two to five years ahead, while value can still be built.
What they optimize
Speed to a closed transaction.
The transferable value of the business itself.
Whose risk they reduce
Their own, by getting a deal across the line.
Yours, by removing the risks a buyer would discount for.
What you keep
A transaction, minus the commission.
A more valuable business, whether or not you sell.
Insights
Field notes on building value before a sale.
Value drivers
Owner dependence is a discount, and buyers price it precisely
The more a business depends on its owner, the less a buyer will pay for it. Here is how that discount is calculated.
Working with RockStack
The difference between an advisor and a broker is the incentive
A broker earns when you sell. An advisor earns for making the business worth more.
Preparing to sell
What buyers find in diligence, and how to find it first
Diligence rarely kills a deal with a surprise. It confirms risks the seller could have removed years earlier.
Start here