Acquisition Multiples by Industry: What Your Business Is Worth

Why Multiples Matter Before You're Ready to Sell

Most founders don't think about acquisition multiples until a buyer shows up. That's the wrong order of operations. If you wait until someone's knocking on your door to figure out what your business is worth, you're negotiating blind - and buyers know it.

I've been through five SaaS exits. Every single time, the founders who got the best outcomes understood multiples cold - not just their industry's average, but why their specific business deserved to trade above it. That's what this guide is about.

Let's break down what buyers actually pay by industry, what drives multiples up or down, and how to position your business to land in the top tier of whatever category you're in.

The Two Metrics That Drive Almost Every Deal

Before we get into industry-specific numbers, you need to understand the two benchmarks buyers use:

• EBITDA multiples - Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization, multiplied by some factor. This is the dominant metric for mature, profitable businesses. For most privately held companies doing $1M-$10M in EBITDA, the multiple typically falls in the 4x-6.5x range as a starting point, with high-growth tech and healthcare firms trading well above that norm and construction or services firms trading below it.
• Revenue multiples - Used heavily in high-growth sectors where companies reinvest profits aggressively. Buyers pay X times your annual revenue rather than your earnings. Common in SaaS, especially for early-stage or fast-growing companies.
• SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) - For smaller owner-operated businesses, buyers use SDE instead of EBITDA. SDE adds back the owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business to reflect the true economic benefit to a single owner-operator. If your business is under $5M in value, this is likely the metric buyers will use.

Which one applies to you depends entirely on your industry and your stage. A bootstrapped, profitable agency gets valued on EBITDA. A fast-growing SaaS with negative margins but strong net revenue retention might get valued on revenue. A small owner-operated ecommerce store gets valued on SDE. Know which world you're in - and know that using the wrong benchmark can either scare off buyers or cost you millions.

Acquisition Multiples by Industry

SaaS (Software as a Service)

SaaS is where multiples get the most attention - and the most volatility. The pandemic-era peak pushed public SaaS revenue multiples into the stratosphere, and they've since come back to earth. For private SaaS companies, the median revenue multiple has compressed significantly from those highs. Private deals for bootstrapped SaaS companies are landing around 4.8x ARR, while equity-backed companies are seeing roughly 5.3x - both meaningfully below public market levels due to liquidity discounts and perceived risk.

But here's what that median hides: the spread is enormous. SaaS companies with net revenue retention (NRR) above 120% have commanded median multiples at sale more than nine times higher than companies with NRR below 90%. That's not a small gap - that's the difference between a life-changing exit and a disappointing one. Public SaaS firms with NRR below 90% have traded at a median revenue multiple of just 1.2x at sale, while those with NRR above 120% have commanded 11.7x.

Gross margin matters too - companies above 80% gross margins command meaningfully higher multiples than those below that threshold. And profitability has become the new growth story. The shift from aggressive growth-at-all-costs strategies toward operating discipline and margin expansion has fundamentally changed how buyers evaluate SaaS businesses. Vertical SaaS (software built specifically for one industry) is particularly hot right now, driven by higher switching costs and mission-critical workflows. Niche SaaS solutions in fintech, cybersecurity, and AI-driven automation are commanding some of the highest multiples in the sector.

The Rule of 40 - where your revenue growth rate plus your EBITDA margin should exceed 40% - has become a key shorthand for buyer appetite. Companies that clear this threshold reliably attract more interest and premium pricing. A 10-point increase in your Rule of 40 score corresponds to roughly +2.2x on your EV/Revenue multiple in current deal data.

For mature, profitable SaaS businesses that have reached positive EBITDA, the EBITDA multiple framework kicks in. Private equity acquisitions of profitable SaaS companies frequently land in the 12x-20x EBITDA band. That's why getting to positive EBITDA isn't just an operational milestone - it unlocks an entirely different tier of buyer and valuation framework.

The bottom line for SaaS: merely being a SaaS company no longer guarantees premium multiples. It's a "rich get richer" valuation environment, and merely being a SaaS company is no longer a ticket to premium ARR multiples. The companies getting premium exits are combining growth with efficiency, not just chasing top-line. If you're running a SaaS business and want help thinking through exit positioning, I go deeper on this inside Galadon Gold.

Marketing and Creative Agencies

Agencies are typically valued on a 3x-6x EBITDA multiple, with the range heavily influenced by client concentration, contract length, and how operationally dependent the business is on the owner. A 10-person agency where the founder does all the sales and manages every key client relationship is worth meaningfully less than one with a sales team, documented processes, and recurring retainers.

The two things that tank agency multiples fastest: (1) no recurring revenue - project work is valued at a steep discount to retainer-based income, and (2) client concentration - if one or two clients represent more than 30% of revenue, expect buyers to price in that risk aggressively.

Agencies that have productized their services - packaging them into defined, repeatable deliverables rather than custom-scoped projects - are increasingly attractive to both strategic acquirers and PE roll-up platforms. The more your agency looks like a recurring-revenue business, the closer it trades to a SaaS valuation.

If you're running an agency and want to get ahead of the acquisition conversation, start by reading our 7-Figure Agency Blueprint - it covers the operational infrastructure that makes agencies acquirable.

Ecommerce and DTC Brands

The ecommerce valuation landscape has stratified significantly. The valuation method depends heavily on your scale and business model:

• Smaller owner-operated stores (under $5M value): Valued on SDE multiples, typically 2.5x-4x SDE. Top-performing stores in this tier can push to 5x or more.
• Mid-market DTC brands ($5M-$50M): Valued on adjusted EBITDA. The majority of DTC brands with attractive KPIs rate at 3.5x to 5.5x EBITDA. Strategic and PE buyers are both active in this range.
• Larger, institutional-scale brands: At scale with strong brand equity and proven unit economics, multiples can exceed 8x-10x EBITDA. The biggest deals in the market reflect strategic premiums that go well beyond financial math.

Profitability has become the defining factor for ecommerce buyers. Large public acquirers and PE firms have continued to target best-in-class DTC brands possessing robust growth and customer loyalty, and transaction closings have involved companies with clear growth plans and defensible economics.

The key word in any DTC deal is "defensible." Rising customer acquisition costs have compressed margins across the board, and buyers are pricing that risk in. A DTC brand dependent on paid social for 80% of its traffic is a much harder sell than one with strong organic search, email, and repeat purchase rates. Subscription or membership-based ecommerce businesses can command higher valuation multiples of 4x-10x ARR due to their predictable financial performance.

Revenue multiples in ecommerce are lower than SaaS, reflecting the higher cost of goods, inventory risk, and CAC volatility. Don't expect SaaS-style multiples just because you have a subscription box or a loyalty program.

Professional Services (Consulting, Staffing, IT Services)

Most professional services businesses - consulting firms, staffing agencies, IT managed services - trade at 4x-8x EBITDA, with the range driven by how systematized and scalable the model is. An IT MSP with recurring managed service contracts and documented runbooks is a very different asset from a consulting firm where all the IP lives in the founding partner's head.

The question buyers ask about every professional services firm is the same: what happens to revenue if the founder leaves in year one? If the honest answer is "a lot of it walks," you're looking at a lower multiple, an earnout-heavy structure, or both. The fix is building a management layer and a sales process that functions without you - and that work takes 12-24 months minimum to make credible to a buyer.

Healthcare services tend to sit at the higher end of this band given regulatory barriers and demand tailwinds. Financial firms generally trade at 7x-12x EBITDA, whereas industrial companies fall in the 5x-10x range, reflecting the difference in recurring revenue quality and capital intensity between the sectors.

Healthcare

Healthcare is one of the more resilient sectors for M&A activity. Providers, payers, and healthcare technology companies are all seeing elevated buyer interest as the industry accelerates digital transformation. EBITDA multiples in healthcare services vary widely - typically 6x-12x for established practices with strong patient retention - with healthcare SaaS commanding even higher multiples when the solution is deeply embedded in clinical workflows.

Regulatory moats matter here. A healthcare business operating in a highly regulated niche with meaningful compliance infrastructure is worth more than one that hasn't built those barriers. Buyers are paying for defensibility, not just revenue.

Construction and Trades

These businesses generally trade at the lower end of the EBITDA multiple spectrum - typically 3x-5x - reflecting lower margins, high equipment costs, weather and project-cycle risk, and heavy dependence on owner relationships. If you're in construction and want to maximize your exit, systematization is everything: documented processes, diversified customer base, and a management team that can run without you.

The thesis that moves a construction business to the top of its range is simple: predictable, contracted revenue. A roofing company doing 80% of its work through insurance restoration contracts with documented crews and a repeatable sales process commands a completely different valuation than one that chases bid work. The business model transformation matters more than the revenue number.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing businesses have shown resilience in M&A markets. Private sector manufacturing M&A has shown resilience, with multiples climbing in recent deal data, reflecting growing investor optimism. Typical EBITDA multiples for manufacturing range from 5x-8x for mid-market businesses, with precision manufacturers and those with proprietary processes commanding the upper end of that range.

Asset-heavy businesses face a structural multiple discount compared to asset-light models. One key factor is heavy capital expenditure demands, which shrink free cash flow and, in turn, compress EBITDA multiples. The way to fight this is to demonstrate that your capital base is already in place and that incremental revenue flows through at high margins - which is exactly the story roll-up buyers want to hear.

Distribution

Distribution companies typically trade in the 4x-7x EBITDA range, with the specific multiple driven by product exclusivity, geographic concentration, and how easily the model scales. Distributors with proprietary relationships - exclusive distribution agreements, specialized product categories, or deeply embedded logistics infrastructure - command meaningfully higher multiples than commodity distributors competing on price. Valuation multiples for distributors dipped during periods of macroeconomic turbulence but have been recovering as supply chains stabilize.

Financial Services

Registered investment advisors (RIAs), insurance agencies, and financial planning businesses command some of the most consistent multiples in any industry when the revenue base is recurring and contractual. RIAs with long-tenured clients under AUM-based fee structures regularly trade at 7x-12x EBITDA - and occasionally higher for firms with strong organic growth pipelines. Insurance agencies with renewal-heavy books are similarly well-valued, given the inherent stickiness of the revenue.

The risk that tanks financial services multiples: advisor concentration. If 60% of AUM is serviced by one or two producers who could leave and take accounts, buyers will restructure the deal around that risk. Non-solicitation agreements, client relationship ownership at the firm level (not the advisor level), and documented transition protocols are what differentiate a 10x deal from a 6x deal in this category.

A Quick Reference Table: EBITDA Multiple Ranges by Industry

The ranges below represent typical private company M&A deal data. Where you actually land within these ranges depends on the value drivers covered in the next section.

These are starting points, not destinations. The factors in the next section determine where within - or above - these ranges your business actually lands.

What Actually Moves Your Multiple Up or Down

The industry average is just the floor. What really determines where your business lands in the range - or breaks above it - comes down to these factors:

• Revenue quality - Recurring, contracted revenue is worth more than project revenue. Buyers pay a premium for predictability. A subscription business trading at 5x EBITDA is not the same deal as a project business trading at 5x EBITDA - even if the numbers look identical on the surface.
• Net Revenue Retention - In subscription businesses, NRR is arguably the single most powerful signal. It tells buyers whether your existing customer base is expanding or contracting, independent of new sales. NRR above 110% means your current customers are paying you more each year - that's an asset, not just a metric.
• Customer concentration - No single customer should represent more than 15%-20% of revenue if you want a clean process. Higher concentration means lower multiple or earnout-heavy deal structure. A buyer who acquires you and loses your top client in year one just wiped out most of the return on their investment - they price that risk accordingly.
• Owner dependency - If you're the rainmaker, head of delivery, and chief client relationship manager, buyers see a key-man risk. Build a layer of management that can operate without you. This is the single most common reason deals fall apart or get restructured at lower prices.
• Growth trajectory - Buyers aren't paying for where you've been - they're paying for where you're going. A business trending modestly upward with sustainable growth commands a better multiple than one that peaked and is flattening out. Declining revenue - even with decent current profit - is a major red flag in any diligence process.
• Churn - In subscription and SaaS businesses, low churn is one of the single most powerful value drivers. High churn signals product-market fit problems or competitive pressure that a buyer will price in hard.
• EBITDA margin - Industries with very low incremental cost of delivering more revenue (like software) naturally achieve higher margins and therefore higher multiples than industries with linear cost structures. The higher your margin, the more of every additional revenue dollar flows to the bottom line - and buyers pay for that leverage.
• Gross margin - For ecommerce and product businesses, gross margin quality matters as much as EBITDA. E-commerce businesses with gross margins above 50% typically receive premium valuations.
• Market size and competitive position - Are you a niche leader or one of a hundred undifferentiated providers? Niche leadership commands a premium. Buyers pay for moats, not for market share in commoditized categories.
• CAC and LTV dynamics - For growth businesses, the ratio between customer acquisition cost and lifetime value tells buyers whether your growth is capital-efficient or if you're buying revenue at a loss. A favorable LTV-to-CAC ratio signals marketing efficiency and durability.
• Management team depth - A strong management bench is a standalone asset. Larger companies with more experienced and capable management teams drive higher valuations - but this applies at any scale. If you've built a team that could run the business post-acquisition, you've removed one of the most common deal killers.
• Sales channel diversity - Whether you're a SaaS company or an ecommerce brand, over-reliance on a single acquisition channel is a risk that buyers price in. Multiple, diversified channels that drive predictable pipeline command a premium over businesses where 80%+ of revenue traces back to a single source.

The Size Premium: Why Bigger Companies Get Better Multiples

Here's something most founders don't realize: the same business model gets a different multiple at different revenue scales. Larger companies tend to have higher EBITDA multiples due to depth of management, organizational efficiency, better access to capital, and more stable and predictable earnings.

This creates a practical playbook for founders who aren't ready to sell yet: grow deliberately to the next size tier before engaging buyers. Going from $800K EBITDA to $1.5M EBITDA before a process isn't just about the absolute dollar increase - it's about the multiple expansion that comes with crossing certain size thresholds. The math compounds quickly. An $800K EBITDA business at 4x is worth $3.2M. The same business at $1.5M EBITDA trading at 5.5x (because it crossed a size threshold) is worth $8.25M. That difference isn't entirely from the EBITDA growth - a meaningful portion is multiple expansion from moving up a tier.

The practical implications: if you're sitting at $750K EBITDA, the most leveraged thing you can do is push to $1M+ before running a process. If you're at $1.5M, get to $3M. Each threshold unlocks a different class of buyer and a structurally higher multiple ceiling.

Understanding the Three Types of Buyers (and What Each One Pays For)

Multiples don't exist in a vacuum - they're set by buyers. And different buyers value your business through completely different lenses. If you're only thinking about your business from one buyer type's perspective, you may be leaving significant money on the table.

Strategic Acquirers

Strategic buyers are operating companies that see your business as additive to their existing platform. They're typically willing to pay the most because they can realize synergies that a financial buyer cannot - your customer base fills a gap in their offering, your technology accelerates their roadmap, or your team solves a hiring problem they've been trying to fix for two years.

The key word with strategics is "synergy" - and it needs to be real, not theoretical. The best strategic conversations start with you understanding exactly what problem your business solves for them, and framing the entire acquisition thesis around that. A strategic buyer is an operating company that tends to want to grow the purchased asset, while a PE buyer is a private equity firm that tends to want to maximize cash flow from the purchased asset. These are fundamentally different orientations that lead to different deal structures and different prices.

Private Equity

PE firms are financial buyers. They model the deal to hit a target internal rate of return (IRR) over a 3-7 year hold period. Their calculus is different: they want businesses with durable cash flow, defensible margins, and a platform they can build on through add-on acquisitions.

PE buyers come in two flavors in most M&A processes: platform investors (looking for a beachhead company to build a roll-up around) and add-on buyers (folding your business into an existing portfolio company). If you're a platform, you have more leverage. If you're an add-on, the buyer is already comparing you to their other add-on options, and the pricing is more formulaic.

The rule of thumb: PE buyers are rigorous. They will run a thorough diligence process and they will find everything. The founders who get the best outcomes from PE processes are the ones who already know where the bodies are buried and have a clean explanation for every anomaly before diligence starts.

Individual Buyers and Search Funds

Individual searchers - via search funds, self-funded searches, or platforms like Flippa - are looking for stable, cash-flowing businesses they can operate. They have a hard ceiling on what they can finance, which generally limits deal size, but they can move fast and they often care less about the operational complexity that scares PE firms.

For digital businesses under $5M in value, Flippa is genuinely useful for understanding what comparable businesses are trading at right now - real-world comps from actual closed deals, not theoretical models. I've used it as a sanity check on multiple occasions.

How to Build Your Acquirer Target List

Understanding multiples is step one. Step two is knowing who the buyers actually are - because a competitive process is one of the most reliable ways to compress the gap between your floor multiple and your ceiling.

When I was preparing my exits, I didn't wait for the phone to ring. I built a deliberate list of potential strategic acquirers - the companies already operating in adjacent spaces who would benefit most from what I'd built. That list became the foundation of a structured outreach effort that ran months before I ever formally launched a process. The goal was simple: have three or four serious buyers at the table simultaneously. A single buyer who knows they have no competition will low-ball you every time.

Here's how to build that list:

1. Map the landscape - Who are the strategic buyers in your category? Think horizontally (competitors who would value your customer base) and vertically (acquirers who need your capabilities to serve their existing customers better). Target identification includes factors like company size, revenue, market position, geography, and compatibility with your business.
2. Look at recent deal history - Who has been active in your space? Companies that have acquired two or three businesses in your category are much more likely to acquire a fourth than a company doing its first deal. Track deal announcements in your vertical consistently.
3. Identify the right contacts - At strategic acquirers, you want the Head of Corporate Development or M&A. At PE firms, the Portfolio Company Board Member - the executive who holds the board seat of a portfolio company most similar to yours - is often the ideal first contact, with the Head of Business Development as a secondary target.
4. Build the database - Once you know who you're targeting, you need their contact information. I use ScraperCity's B2B lead database to pull companies by industry, size, and geography and build my initial contact list. Filter by title - Corporate Development, VP M&A, Chief Strategy Officer - to find the right person at each company.
5. Run warm outreach before the formal process - Don't cold-pitch an acquisition. Have a series of informational conversations that build relationships over 6-12 months. When you eventually run a formal process, you're calling people who already know you, not strangers.

The mechanics of building this contact list and reaching out effectively is the same cold outreach skill I've been teaching for years. Check out the Discovery Call Framework for how to structure those early conversations with potential acquirers - the same principles apply whether you're selling a service or positioning a company for acquisition.

If you want to find the email addresses of specific corporate development contacts you've identified, an email finding tool can help you look up their direct contact info without wasting time digging through LinkedIn.

Deal Structure: What the Multiple Doesn't Tell You

A lot of founders get fixated on the headline multiple and miss the deal structure entirely. A 6x EBITDA deal with 40% in earnouts is not the same as a 5x EBITDA deal paid entirely in cash at close. You need to read the full structure, not just the number on the top line.

The main structural elements that affect your actual take-home:

• Cash at close vs. earnout - Earnouts tie a portion of your payout to hitting future performance targets post-acquisition. They're extremely common, especially in agency and services deals where the buyer fears revenue walking out the door with you. The more de-risked your business looks (strong management team, diversified clients, documented processes), the less earnout exposure you'll face.
• Equity rollover - PE buyers frequently ask founders to roll over 10%-30% of their equity into the new entity. This aligns incentives and funds the deal, but it means your ultimate payout depends on the buyer's ability to execute. If the thesis plays out and they exit successfully in 4-5 years, rollover equity can be the highest-returning part of your deal. If it doesn't, you've left a significant chunk on the table.
• Working capital adjustments - At close, there's typically a working capital true-up that adjusts the price based on the actual working capital in the business at the time of transfer. This is a common place for surprises - buyers will build a target working capital into the LOI, and if you close below it, you owe the difference. Have your advisor model this early.
• Representations and warranties - These are your commitments to the buyer about the accuracy of everything you told them. Reps and warranties insurance has become increasingly common for deals over $10M, and it's worth asking about in every process. It reduces your personal exposure to post-close indemnification claims.
• Non-compete and employment agreements - Most buyers will require you to sign a non-compete and potentially a consulting or employment agreement for 1-3 years post-close. This isn't inherently bad - it's standard - but understand what you're agreeing to before you sign.

Prep Work That Directly Impacts Your Multiple

The six to twelve months before you launch a formal sale process are where you actually earn your multiple. Here's where to focus:

• Clean up your financials - Get to GAAP-compliant or at least consistently presented financials. Add-backs need to be defensible. Buyers will scrutinize every owner benefit and non-recurring expense. If you've been running personal expenses through the business, start separating them now - a buyer who finds undisclosed add-backs in diligence loses trust in everything else.
• Reduce customer concentration - Even adding two or three mid-sized clients before a process can meaningfully reduce concentration risk in a buyer's model. This is one of the highest-ROI activities in the 12 months before a sale.
• Document everything - SOPs, playbooks, onboarding processes. If a buyer's team can't understand how to run your business without you, that's a discount. Check out our Discovery Call Framework for how to structure sales-side documentation that impresses buyers in diligence.
• Drive margin expansion - Even modest improvements in EBITDA margin translate into compounding value when you multiply by even a modest multiple. Cutting $50K in unnecessary costs might add $300K-$400K to your exit price at a 6x-8x multiple. Do the math on every expense category.
• Build a pipeline, not just revenue - A documented, repeatable sales system is a separate asset in a buyer's eyes. It means revenue doesn't collapse the moment you walk out the door. If your CRM is clean, your pipeline is documented, and your sales process is written down, you've just made yourself significantly more acquirable.
• Get your cap table clean - If you have investors, advisors, or employees with equity, make sure you know exactly who owns what and that everything is documented cleanly. Cap table surprises in diligence are deal killers.
• Know your add-backs cold - Work with your accountant to build a clean adjusted EBITDA schedule that reflects every defensible add-back. This becomes the foundation of every valuation conversation. Buyers will push back on every one - know your arguments before you're in the room.

Common Mistakes That Kill Deals or Kill Multiples

I've seen good businesses get bad outcomes because of avoidable mistakes. Here are the most common ones:

Running a single-buyer process. This is the biggest one. If you're talking to one buyer, you have no leverage. A competitive process - even if it's just two or three credible parties - dramatically changes the dynamic. Buyers who know there's competition structure better deals. Multiple credible bidders know they're vying against peers, so they come forward with their strongest price and structure.

Applying the wrong valuation framework. Using a SaaS revenue multiple for a professional services firm, or using SDE when EBITDA is the right benchmark, can completely misprice your business in either direction. Know your category and know how buyers in your category think about value. If you apply the wrong multiple, you either overprice and scare off buyers, or underprice and leave money on the table.

Starting too late. Running a sale process takes 6-12 months in most cases. Starting from a standing position when you're already burned out or facing a business downturn means you're selling defensively - and buyers can smell that. Start thinking about your exit 2-3 years before you want to close.

Ignoring the "country club multiple" trap. This is a real phenomenon - founders who heard their friend sold for 8x and assume their business is worth the same, without accounting for the material differences between their business and their friend's. Multiples aren't universal. They're specific to business quality, structure, and buyer pool. Get a real valuation assessment, not a cocktail party number.

Letting diligence find the problems. If there are issues in your business - a customer concentration problem, a key employee who's been talking to competitors, an IP ownership question - surface them proactively. Buyers who find surprises in diligence assume there are more where that came from. Buyers who are told upfront have time to get comfortable. Proactive disclosure builds trust; discovered problems destroy it.

How AI and Technology Are Changing M&A Multiples

One trend worth paying attention to: the AI integration story has become a meaningful multiple driver in certain categories. SaaS businesses that have meaningfully integrated AI into their core workflows - not just bolted on a ChatGPT wrapper, but built durable AI-driven capabilities that improve the product - are commanding premium attention from buyers. Artificial intelligence is expected to remain in focus, and SaaS companies have already started leveraging integration into their products.

For non-tech businesses, AI adoption is becoming a differentiation factor in operations. Ecommerce brands that use AI for inventory management, customer service automation, and ad optimization are presenting stronger unit economics to buyers, which translates to multiple expansion at the margin.

This isn't a reason to bolt on AI for the sake of it - buyers are sophisticated enough to see through superficial implementations. But if you're genuinely using technology to operate more efficiently than your competitors, make sure that story is front and center in your sale process.

The Honest Truth About Multiples

Industry averages are useful context, but they don't determine your outcome - your preparation does. I've seen agencies sell for 8x EBITDA because they had locked-in contracts, a senior team, and three strategic buyers competing. I've seen SaaS businesses with theoretically high-multiple categories sell for 2x revenue because churn was ugly, the founder was the entire go-to-market, and there was no competitive process.

The multiple you get isn't assigned to you by the market. It's negotiated by two parties with different information levels. The more you know about your real business quality, the more you know about what buyers in your category actually care about, and the more effort you put into engineering competition in your deal - the better your outcome will be.

Start this work now. Not when someone calls you. The best exits I've ever seen were planned 24-36 months before they closed. The worst exits I've seen were reactive, single-buyer processes where the founder was exhausted and the buyer knew it.

Know your number. Know what moves it. And build toward the exit you want before anyone asks you to name a price.