The Mechanics of a Business Exit - John Marsh

Episode Summary:Selling a business requires executing a highly complex transaction against professional buyers who do this every single day.If a founder takes their eyes off the daily operations to manage due diligence alone, the business often suffers a dip in performance—opening the door for buyers to retrade and adjust the purchase price downward.In this episode of the ASYMMETRY® Podcast, Tyler sits down with John Marsh, founder and managing partner of Marsh Creek Advisors.Leveraging his background as a former medical device CFO who executed over $360 million in transactions , John deconstructs the structural mechanics of a successful sell-side M&A process.We discuss the critical importance of running a competitive, structured auction , how to structurally de-risk your enterprise years in advance by addressing owner dependency and customer concentration , and the reality of navigating complex deal structures like earnouts and rolled equity.Timestamps:[00:00] Introduction to John Marsh and Marsh Creek Advisors.[07:58] Lessons learned from executing $360M in transactions and seeing the private equity playbook from the inside.[11:50] The step-by-step mechanics of running a competitive M&A process.[18:42] The asymmetrical risk of negotiating alone and how operational dips during due diligence lead to price retrades.[21:40] How to structurally prepare your business for market by minimizing owner dependency and customer concentration.[27:10] Navigating post-sale mechanics: Earnouts, seller notes, and rolling equity.[31:41] Why conducting sell-side due diligence on your prospective buyer is critical.Subscribe to our Substack for episode alerts and research: https://asymmetricexit.substack.com/Learn more about Shell Capital Management:https://shell-capital.com/