The 5 Year Exit

A $60M company had 90% of its revenue tied to just three customers. 😳That might sound like a great business on the surface, but to a buyer, it’s a pretty big red flag.Matt Foss, Founder of The FOSS Group, joins me for our Season 1 finale to talk about what buyers are actually looking at when they evaluate a company and some of the things founders often overlook.Because growing a big company is one thing. Building a company someone actually wants to buy is another.And honestly, some of the things Matt shares might change how you think about building your own business.Build Something Magnetic.Connect with Magnetic Leadership Consulting:https://www.magneticconsulting.net/[email protected] with Matt Fosshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-foss/

Selling a business is hard.Doing it in two years when you should have started five years earlier? Well, that’s even harder.Matt Foss spent 16 years at HydroWorks, eventually becoming CEO and helping prepare the company for a successful sale. He shares what gets overlooked when preparing for an exit, from building a leadership team to protecting company culture and choosing the right buyer.There’s a difference between what a business makes and what it’s actually worth. This is what changes that valuation.Build Something Magnetic.

Selling your business is a financial event.But it's also an emotional one.Albert Fox, Managing Director & Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley shares what happens after the exit……when founders have to navigate sudden wealth, behavioral biases, and the challenge of making smart decisions with life-changing amounts of money.We explore the psychology behind wealth, the mistakes that can quietly derail long-term financial success, and why protecting what you've built requires just as much intention as building it in the first place.Build Something Magnetic.Albert Fox is a Financial Advisor with the Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley in Mount Laurel, NJ. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Member SIPC. www.sipc.org. Albert Fox may only transact business in states where he is registered or excluded or exempted from registration http://brokercheck.finra.org/Search/Search.aspx. Transacting business, follow-up and individualized responses involving either effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, will not be made to persons in states where Albert Fox is not registered or excluded or exempt from registration. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trusts, estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning or other legal matters.Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.  Member SIPC.      CRC 5712632  7/26

Only 20% of companies ever reach sustained, top-tier growth.The rest either never turn a profit or get knocked off course by one or two bad decisions.While most founders focus on scaling as fast as possible, far fewer prepare themselves for what Vipon Kumar calls the “sophomore slump.”Vipon Kumar, a founder and Vistage Chair, explains what separates the top 20% of businesses that reach a golden period from everyone else.Vipon has spent decades in executive leadership across six industries and more than 50 countries, sharing the patterns he's seen play out again and again.Don’t get set back by years…Build Something Magnetic.

Laura Spaulding had never cleaned up a crime scene before starting Spaulding Decon.She built Spaulding Decon from a $15,000 investment into a company generating more than $10 million in annual revenue. She shares how saying yes before feeling ready, building systems that scale, and hiring for culture over credentials helped her grow a business buyers would want. The foundation you lay today determines the value you create tomorrow.Build Something Magnetic.

Every founder has a number in mind when it comes to selling their business.The problem? It’s usually not the number the market is willing to pay.Ryan Hurst, Partner at RKL and Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), shares what actually drives business value, why buyers see your company differently than you do, and the costly mistakes that can leave MILLIONS on the table.If you want to maximize value long before you’re ready to sell, then you have to check out this episode. Build Something Magnetic.

Selling your business is one thing. Making sure it supports the life you want afterward is another.The lifestyle your business funds today may not be the lifestyle your exit can fund tomorrow.Karl Murray shares the financial mistakes founders make before an exit, why planning should start years before the sale, and how to make sure your wealth lasts long after the deal closes.Build Something Magnetic.

Most founders think about selling their business when they're ready to leave. CFO and Founder of Pillar One Consulting, Cheryl Heller explains why that's usually too late.This is what buyers actually look for, the financial blind spots that quietly reduce business value, and why building a sellable company starts years before an exit is ever on the table.One of the biggest blind spots hits earlier than most founders expect. It shows up the moment their headcount crosses 15 to 25 people. That's when letting go stops being optional.Build Something Magnetic.

Robert Friedman spent more than 20 years helping build a company from the inside.Then he helped lead one of the most important transitions in its history.A great business isn't just profitable. Robert shares what he learned as CFO of BAMCO, including the financial systems, accountability, and leadership decisions that transformed the company before its transition to employee ownership (ESOP). We also unpack why two previous sale attempts failed, what founders should understand about ESOPs, and how to think about exit planning long before you're ready to leave.Build Something Magnetic.

Adrienne Green started her career as a teacher with a negative net worth and a lot of student loans.Today, she owns multiple businesses, has built a real estate portfolio, and now travels the world full-time with her family (they’ve been to 6 of the 7 continents!).Adrienne shares how she transitioned from corporate finance to teaching, then from teaching to entrepreneurship, and eventually built businesses that don't depend on her being involved in every decision.We dive into delegation, building systems, leveraging virtual teams, and why so many founders unknowingly become the bottleneck in their own growth.This is the key to building serious value into your business, especially if your goal is to exit. Build Something Magnetic.

Jim Schultz started his company, Applied Educational Systems (AES), with a $2,500 investment out of his parents' basement.Thirty-six years later, he sold it.But he had to survive reinvention first.We talk about the bold decision to walk away from a successful business model and rebuild the company from the ground up. The transition wasn't easy. Revenue disappeared, the team shrank dramatically, and Jim and his wife emptied retirement accounts to keep the vision alive.Jim shares what he learned about leadership, recurring revenue, building a strong management team, and why waiting until you're ready to sell is too late to start preparing for an exit.If you're building a company, leading through change, or thinking about what comes next, this conversation is full of lessons earned the hard way.Build Something Magnetic.

Jason Leck started working on the back of a recycling truck when he was 12 years old.Most people would see that as a job.Jason saw it as an education.In this episode, we talk about the leadership lessons he learned from working every level of a family business before eventually growing it into a multi-state operation and selling it for $30M+.One of the biggest takeaways?You can’t manage what you can't measure.Too many business owners make decisions from a spreadsheet without understanding how those decisions affect the people doing the work.Jason shares how focusing on culture, knowing his numbers, and building a long-term strategic plan helped turn a $7M company into a $30M business.We also dive into what really happens during the sale process, the mistakes founders make when preparing for an exit, and why most entrepreneurs start planning far too late.If you're building a business, scaling a team, or thinking about an eventual exit, this conversation is packed with practical lessons you can apply right now.Build Something Magnetic.

Most business owners will only sell a company once.That gap in experience between owners and buyers can cost you millions.That's why I created The 5 Year Exit!I'm sitting down with founders, CEOs, investors, M&A advisors, and acquisition experts to uncover what actually creates value in your business and what separates an average exit from a life-changing one.After recording the first 12 episodes, these three themes kept showing up.Whether you're planning to sell in five years, fifteen years, or just want to build a stronger business today, this podcast is designed to help you create more freedom, more value, and more options.Build Something Magnetic with Magnetic Consulting