Your Exit X-Ray: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Selling Your Company
Selling your company is never just a financial transaction. It’s a strategic, financial and personal crossroads. Some entrepreneurs see it as an endgame. Others as a next chapter. But in all cases, questions remain — and change — as you move through the process.
You often hear about great valuations, high multiples, and smart deal structures. Less about the things that go wrong during the process itself — or the deals that looked fine on paper but didn’t work strategically once signed. That’s why preparation matters: not just in numbers, but in story and people.
A convincing transaction case must hold up on three levels:
Strategic ambition – does the logic of the company fit a buyer’s agenda?
Financial ambition – does the value creation story add up?
Personal ambition – does the founder’s own journey align with the outcome?
That demands preparation — not only in the usual forms of financial, legal, tax or technical due diligence, but also in areas often overlooked: the strategic narrative and the people dynamics. Without investment logic, even the cleanest spreadsheet won’t sell your company. Here are ten questions to guide that reflection. They’re not exhaustive — just a solid starting point. Keeping it simple helps focus on what matters and leaves room for the bigger conversations later.
1. What is the real investment case you’d present to a buyer — in three sentences or less?
A strong case has a clear strategic hook and demonstrates why your company is more attractive today than a year ago. It should also show how you fit into wider dynamics like platforms, scale or consolidation.
2. Where is the true momentum in your market — and how do you show you’re riding it?
Think about which customer behaviours, technologies or value-chain shifts are irreversible. Investors want to see that you’re positioned on the side of acceleration, not delay, and that your company is an essential link in this dynamic.
3. What would concretely disappear if your company stopped tomorrow — and who would feel it?
This is about dependency: which customers or partners truly rely on you, and what makes your position hard to replicate. The answer shapes your market power and, ultimately, your exit value.
4. Where is the untapped potential an investor could unlock faster than you?
Every company leaves something on the table — whether through limited capital, technology or capacity. Proven growth paths may not yet be rolled out, and an investor might be able to pull strategic levers that you currently cannot. Ask yourself: is your company strong enough to serve as a platform for buyandbuild? Or is it more naturally positioned as an addon, or even part of a merger scenario? The same applies to international expansion or entering new productmarket combinations — areas where external capital and expertise can accelerate what you alone cannot. Understanding this potential helps both you and a buyer see where the true upside lies.
5. Looking only at your numbers — where would critical investors probe first?
Be honest about fragilities in revenue, margin or cost dynamics. Highlight which assumptions underpin your model, and prepare to explain them clearly before the process begin.
6. How robust and predictable is your revenue and profitability — if the market takes a hit?
Performance is more than topline growth. What matters is the mix of recurring, project and one-off income, the real level of retention (contractual or behavioural), and how both cash flow and EBITDA margins react under pressure. Investors will test not only your revenue resilience but also how sustainable your profitability is when times get tough.
7. How transferable is your value creation — does the company run without you?
Buyers will test whether decisions still depend on you, how scalable and independent your leadership team is, and what remains if you step out tomorrow. This is where leadership continuity is crucial.
8. What do you want this step to set in motion — professionally and personally?
Clarify your ambition: is this an exit, an accelerator, or a redefinition of your role? Decide what you want to carry into your next chapter — and what you’d rather leave behind.
9. What must be arranged, expressed or passed on — to leave with peace of mind?
A sale is also a handover. Think about the people, agreements or values that must not be forgotten. Consider what you wouldn’t forgive yourself if left unsaid, and what’s needed to walk away with your head held high.
10. What do you hope a buyer will feel or see — that you haven’t put into words yet?
Numbers rarely tell the whole story. Often, there’s unproven potential, intuitive knowledge or an untold narrative that still needs to be surfaced. The right buyer will be open to hearing it.
In the end: the real deal starts after the deal
A transaction doesn’t stop at signing — it only truly begins when the new reality unfolds. That’s when story, leadership, team and culture make the difference.
That’s why we believe in strong strategic narratives and a deep analysis of human dynamics, alongside the usual Financial, Commercial, Technical, Legal and Tax reviews. Solid transaction execution power is essential — basic hygiene where differences in quality matter greatly. But if the strategic and human dimensions are overlooked, the risk is real. These are not addons; they are integral parts of a transaction that must work on all three levels: strategically, financially and personally.
Together, these lenses ensure the numbers add up, the logic holds, and the story resonates.
Want to explore this further? Or just spar about where you stand?
