A change in the founder's circumstances meant the sale could not wait a year. A disciplined, shortened process preserved competition and closed at $15M to $20M in under four months.
Request a Confidential ValuationA change in the founder's personal circumstances meant the company had to be sold sooner than anyone would choose. The instinct in that position is to take the first credible offer, because speed feels like the only goal. But a rushed bilateral deal is exactly where buyers extract the most, and the founder's timeline would have been visible to anyone across the table.
We compressed the process without abandoning it. The buyer universe was tighter and pre-qualified for speed and certainty, diligence materials were prepared in full before outreach so nothing slowed the back half, and the timeline was framed to buyers as decisiveness rather than distress. Competition was preserved even though the calendar was short.
Three credible parties stayed in to a final round, and the company signed in under four months at $15M to $20M, with terms that did not punish the speed. A short timeline costs leverage only if buyers read it as desperation. Run as a deadline you set, it can read as conviction.
A short timeline only costs leverage when buyers read it as desperation. Prepared in advance and framed as a deadline you set, speed can read as conviction rather than need.
Details that could identify the company have been altered or withheld. Transaction details are representative of engagements of this type. Quotes are representative. References available to qualified parties under non-disclosure agreement.
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