Exit planning for the personal side of selling your company.
Before you sell, know what the sale must fund, what it will cost in tax and what life looks like after. Focused, hourly advice for founders, including those who already have a financial advisor.
From sale price to what you keep
The sale price isn’t what you keep.
Founders spend years building the business and months negotiating the deal. The personal side of the sale often gets a few conversations at the end, after the terms are set.
By then the biggest questions are hard to change: how much of the price reaches you, when it arrives, how it’s taxed and whether it funds the life you want next.
Founders usually lean on the people already around them: the CPA, the attorney, the investment banker. Each is focused on getting the deal done. The question of what the deal does for you and your family often belongs to no one.
What it costs you
- Taxes on the proceedsHow the deal is structured can change what you owe.
- A number that falls shortA price that sounds large may not fund the next thirty years.
- Deal terms that delay paymentEarnouts, escrows and retention agreements decide when, and whether, money arrives.
- Concentration until closingMost of your net worth rides on one company until the day it sells.
What exit planning covers.
Exit planning, as we practice it, is the personal side of selling a business: what the sale has to fund, what it will cost in tax, how the deal terms affect you and your family, and what to do after the proceeds arrive. We bring in the business valuation work from your accountants or other professionals and model hypothetical exits, including how different entity and deal structures change what you keep.
The business side of the exit, including the books, the value and the sale process, has its own specialists, and we work alongside them. Our partner firms cover specific pieces of it: Founder’s Accounting for the books, Value Creation Consultancy for building value, and Sell Side Securities™ for secondary sales of private-company shares.
Know your number before you sign.
Instead of
So you can
A sale price
Know what you’ll keep before you agree to the price
Hoping the proceeds are enough
Sign knowing whether the number funds the life you want next
Tax questions after closing
Weigh the deal structure while it can still change
Earnout and retention terms read once
Understand what the terms mean for your family’s timeline
Figuring out life after on your own
Start life after the sale with a plan already in place
What we work through.
Before the sale
- What the sale must fund for you and your family
- Your ownership stake on your personal balance sheet
- Hypothetical exit models built on business valuation work from your accountants or other professionals
- Personal guarantee and liability exposure
The deal terms
- Entity and deal structure scenarios and their tax impact, coordinated with your CPA
- Sale proceeds tax overview
- Earnout, escrow and retention terms
- Key person coverage and buy-sell funding
After the sale
- An income plan for life after the business
- Insurance and estate plan updates
- How the proceeds fit your long-term goals
How it works.
- 1
Discovery Meeting
A complimentary conversation about your timeline, your goals and the advisors already on your team.
- 2
Scope and engagement letter
We agree on the questions to answer and set out the hourly rate in writing.
- 3
Analysis and recommendations
We model what the sale must fund and how the terms affect what you keep.
- 4
Coordination
We share our work with your advisor, CPA, attorney and deal team.
Questions we hear
How far ahead of a sale should I start?
Earlier is better. Many of the most useful decisions, such as how the deal is structured and what the sale must fund, are easiest to shape before you have an offer in hand.
Can you work with my current financial advisor?
Yes. Exit Planning is billed hourly so you can keep your advisor and bring us in for the personal side of the sale.
Do you value my business or run the sale?
No. We keep to the personal side. Valuation, preparing the business and running the sale belong with your deal team. Our partner firms can help with the books, building value and, for founders selling private-company shares, secondary sales.
How is this different from the Subscription for Founders?
Exit Planning answers the exit questions on their own, hourly. The Subscription for Founders includes them inside a year of comprehensive planning across all six pillars.
Is hourly advice worth it if I already have a deal team?
Your deal team is focused on the transaction. We’re focused on you. Before any work begins, we agree on the questions we’ll answer and put the rate in writing, so you decide the scope.
Sell once. Plan it right.
Bring your timeline and any deal terms you have. In a complimentary 90-minute Discovery Meeting, we’ll show you which personal questions the deal hasn’t answered yet. It’s also how we both decide whether we’re the right fit, with no obligation.