If You Want to Exit One Day, Build Like You’re Leaving Tomorrow
Most first time founders build for financial freedom. But they think that comes from hitting the highest MRR possible.
And that’s a good way to get rich, for sure.
However… it’s easy to forget that by selling your business one day you can get a life changing amount of money deposited into your bank account and never have to work again (if you don’t want to).
Here’s the thing though - you don’t just sell a business…
You have to plan for your exit years in advance.
How? By building something that survives without you.
That’s why most exits fail, stall, or come with brutal earn-outs (gross).
Fear not… I just interviewed Alex Arnot, who has been through 56 exits.
Here’s are my notes from what he taught me about exiting for an offensive amount of money:
The Stuff Buyers Actually Care About (That No One Tells You)
Alex broke it down into six things he sees over and over again —
the real drivers of valuation, leverage, and freedom post-exit.
I’ll give you my notes below feel free to watch the full thing for the nuance:
1. “Company in a Box” beats hustle every time
Buyers pay for repeatable, predictable businesses—not founder dependency.
The “Company in a Box” model:
Break down every component of the business (people, sales, marketing, finance, delivery).
Run cross-functional team reviews to optimise each.
Create documented, repeatable processes.
This boosts valuation AND reduces your earn-out risk.
Action: Build a living blueprint of how your business works—so a buyer knows it can run without you.
2. Build Your Data Room Early (Exit Health Check)
A data room tells you what you need to improve and in what order.
Doing this years early:
Surfaces red flags
Improves business performance along the way
Gives leverage in negotiation
Action: Start tracking your numbers across the business the moment you think an exit could be in your future, even if that’s 5 years out.