How do you determine your ideal exit strategy?

I think the first step in determining the ideal exit strategy is to be clear about your vision and goals for your company and yourself. What do you want to achieve with your business? What do you want to do after you leave? Once you know what you want, you can begin to develop an exit strategy that will help you achieve your goals. There are many different exit strategies available, so it's important to choose the one that's right for you. And if you want to grow your business and create a larger, more competitive entity, merging with another company may be the best option.

Have a laser focus on building a great business - before you spend too much time thinking about an exit. Too many folks get exited about an exit before they have built a solid business

Firstly, assessing the range of possibilities and potential outcomes for businesses operating in the respected industry. This may include options like IPOs, favourable valuation multiples, strategic partnerships, or even modest acquisitions. It's worth noting that specific industries command higher valuation multiples, suggesting that an acquisition would require a significant company. Once this assessment is complete, the next step is to align the chosen course of action with personal objectives and lifestyle preferences. By mapping out a backward plan from this standpoint, businesses can identify and prioritize the critical aspects required to resonate with the intended target audience.

An exit plan remains crucial throughout any business phase. Life's uncertainties often disrupt plans, making business priorities secondary. Consider health issues; if you fall ill, what's the plan? Selling or seeking a partner? Similarly, transitioning to new challenges demands a strategy. Whether due to unforeseen circumstances or pursuing new endeavors, a well-thought exit plan remains indispensable.

It is important to determine the optimal exit strategy based on vision, goals, and lifestyle. After this level of self-reflection, perhaps the other most important (but often overlooked) thing is to adjust your expectations. This is especially true if you want to sell your business. The reality is what you believe your company is worth may be very different than what the buyer thinks the company is worth. The gap between expectation and reality may be vastly different. It is important to take the emotion of the process. This is hard when for many, a founders business is their passion. Take the ego out of the process and get really clear on what really matters - is it to leave to take a break, start something new, or a certain number.

The online news outlets let us believe that the only success is unicorn status. This is a 0,0015% chance. If I may inspire here. You first goal should be to make sure that the income gained ensures a comfortable life. What is that number for you? As soon you have reached that point your circle of influence grows to impact beyond your inner circle, hence the income requirement goes up. Know that a 5 million dollar payday sets you up for life. At a 7% annual return that is 350.000 in income a year.

If you're raising funds from VCs or Angels, they'll want to know your exit plan. Many first-time founders default to IPOs, but the reality is that only 10% of exits happen that way; most are through mergers and acquisitions. Do your research and think carefully about which organisations might find value in acquiring your business. Look for similar cases and examine their sales multiples. In the end, investors aren't looking for a definitive answer; they're more interested in how you think. Nobody knows what the future holds, but investors will certainly know if you haven't done your homework and are just trying to wing it.

Build an investable business from day-1 that has the opportunity to exit one day. If exits are your bread and butter then targeting a 5 - 25 million dollar exit delivers you the biggest chance of success. Depending the business you run this means a EBITDA of 1M-5M per year. Or a $83.000 profit per month, or a $200.000 revenue per month. Now you have direction. :)

In my prespective, if your why is clear since inception of your business, you can easily choose the best option the most suitable one, if you go for legacy the transfer mode will be the merger, look for the best combination of your products for diversification so that you can get best out of the combo if merger with the best combination products of other company. Speak out the benefits to the interested parties with full confidence and relevant stats so that you will have the best deal out of it.

"I will exit via IPO." If you're raising funds from VCs or Angels, they'll want to know your exit strategy. But timing is everything. Say it too early, and you're putting the cart before the horse. First, you need to convince your investors that: - There's a real problem, and you have the solution, - You have achieved some level of traction - You have what it takes to execute the plan, - And most importantly, they enjoy working with you. Otherwise, you risk making a big claim that fools no one but yourselves.