Why are some business owners able to scale their business and achieve a successful exit… and other are not?
Yes there is luck and timing.
But for those getting it right, it seems to me that a few things really stand out.
The first one is hard to define, but I’d say it hinges on finding “asymmetric” opportunities. In other words, you’re not constantly betting the farm and risking everything. It’s about a steady flow of opportunities which provide huge upside if things go well, but limited downside if there’s failure.
Also – there’s attention to detail. But I will just caveat that. If a business owner is a bit blue sky in their approach, that’s fine…. so long as they have a details person (or people) to deal with the complexity of running a scaling business – because it needs doing!
Then there’s tenacity. Our American cousins often talk about grit. It’s having the absolute determination to pursue a goal no matter what. And you get to see this characteristic in all sorts of personality types and business owners.
But when it comes to scaling up any business, you need to think big and master exponential growth. If you’re only prepared to pursue incremental growth, particularly in the build-up to an exit, then you are going to struggle to get the valuation and the exit that you want.
#NextLevelGrowth #M&A #Exitlaunchpad