Thinking about selling? Five more years could be worth five times more.
For business owners who'd like to sell in the next several years and still have five more years of fight left in them. Follow a playbook that has worked for other owners, build a much bigger company first, and sell it, or your shares, on your terms.
Where the extra millions come from
Private businesses usually sell for a modest multiple of EBITDA. Larger, growing companies with access to capital tend to be valued at higher multiples. The playbook is about moving your company from the first group to the second before you sell.
Sell today
$1 million in EBITDA × 4 = $4 million
After 3 to 5 years of growth and acquisitions
$2 million × 10 = $20 million
Multiples vary widely by industry, size, growth and market conditions. We'll walk through realistic numbers for your business in the first conversations.
Why the buyer usually makes more than the seller
Private equity firms buy companies like yours at a low multiple, combine several of them, and later sell the larger group at a higher multiple. That gap is a big part of how they make their money.
The playbook flips it around. Instead of being one of the companies that gets rolled up, you become the one doing the rolling up, and you keep more of that upside for yourself. Be the roll-up, not the rolled-up.
Four levers that make your company worth more
Capital
Fund growth or acquisitions on your terms, without handing control to a private equity firm.
Talent
Offer stock with a real market value. Strong people bring customers, relationships and new opportunities with them, and a company that runs without you is worth more to every buyer.
Opportunities
Audited financials and public reporting open doors with lenders, larger customers and strategic partners, and give future buyers numbers they can trust.
Acquisitions
More capital, stronger people and credibility make you a buyer smaller rivals and suppliers take seriously, and your stock can be part of the price. Each deal adds earnings and can lift what the whole company is worth.
More ways to exit
Sell the whole company later at a larger size, sell shares gradually over time, or keep running it. You aren't limited to one buyer and one deal. Public shares can be sold over time, within securities rules on timing and volume. A private owner can't sell any shares until the whole business sells.
Is this you?
A good fit if you
- Own a business and plan to sell it in the next several years
- Would put in 3 to 5 more years to make it worth far more
- See competitors you could buy, or want to grow faster
- Want an experienced adviser alongside you
Probably not right if you
- Need to be fully out within the next 1 to 2 years
- Don't want outside shareholders or public reporting
- Are looking for a guaranteed price or quick cash
How it works
Four steps, in order. Every step is optional and agreed in writing before it starts. You can stop after any step and owe nothing further.
Plan: The Four Levers Program
Every engagement starts here. Four one-to-one working sessions and a written playbook built around your company: a straight verdict on whether going public belongs in your plan now, later or never; which route and which market; your first raise, outlined; and a 90-day action list. About 30 days. $10,000, fixed, and nothing owed after. Read about the program.
Raise
If the plan calls for a raise, we prepare the company and coach you through it: corporate structure, cap table, financial records, governance, the offering, investor materials, data room, compliance and an outreach plan. Then you run a private placement from your own network, sized to your next milestone at a valuation you can support. $15,000, fixed, with 90 days of support, and only if we both think you're ready.
List
With the capital and shareholders in place, we manage the process of becoming a public company by whichever route fits, most often a direct listing on the OTC market. We bring in and coordinate the auditors, securities lawyers and other specialists, and keep the whole sequence moving. A monthly fee plus equity, agreed in writing, so we do well only if you do.
Build
Once you're public, ongoing strategic advice whenever we're needed: acquisitions, hiring with stock, partnerships, capital strategy, investor communication, and moving up to a larger exchange when it makes sense. A monthly fee plus options. This is where most of the value gets created.
Selling now vs. following the playbook
- Valuation a lower multiple of today's EBITDA, vs. the potential for a higher multiple on a bigger business
- Who sets the price a small group of buyers, vs. a public market plus strategic buyers later
- Growth tools cash and bank debt, vs. stock for hires and acquisitions, plus optional capital raises
- Control usually ends at closing, vs. you keep running the company
- Time and effort a sale is usually faster, vs. under a year to list, then 3 to 5 years of building
What it costs
What it costs. Every engagement starts with The Four Levers Program: four one-to-one working sessions and a written playbook, about 30 days, $10,000 fixed, with nothing owed after. If the plan calls for a raise, Raise-Ready is $15,000, fixed, with 90 days of support. Listing, and the advisory work after it, are on a monthly fee plus equity, agreed in writing before each step starts. You can stop after any step and owe nothing further.
Third-party costs are additional and paid directly to those providers: accounting, audit, legal, stock exchange, transfer agent and filing fees. We'll estimate them once we've seen your financials. As a guide, they typically run:
- Direct listing:$300,000 to $500,000
- Reverse merger:$400,000 to $600,000
- IPO:$600,000 or more, before underwriting commissions
You don't need this money sitting in the bank. In almost every case, the private placement is structured so you and your team can raise capital from your personal and professional networks to cover these costs, often with growth capital on top, and sometimes capital for acquisitions too. Your own outlay is the plan and the preparation. The people who already know you pay for the rest.
If your raise falls short, you can stop there. You owe nothing further, and no equity has been issued to us.
You won't be doing this alone
I'm Joel Arberman. I started as an equity analyst at asset management firms in New York, and at 22 became a partner at a 700-person investment bank, where I learned how buyers and investors value a company and why some are worth so much more than others. I've spent more than 30 years across Wall Street, Bay Street and my own companies, and taken 17 companies public, several of them my own.
Today I help business owners carry out this playbook, so the company they eventually sell is far bigger, and worth far more, than the one they have today.
Questions owners ask
Is this an IPO?
Usually not. There's no big Wall Street underwriting or roadshow. Most companies list through a direct listing on the OTCQB, which is simpler and less costly, and can move up to Nasdaq or the NYSE later.
What is the OTCQB?
A U.S. public market for smaller and growing companies. Companies on it file audited financials and regular reports, and the public can buy and sell their shares.
Will there be buyers for my shares?
Honestly, trading in smaller public companies can be thin, especially at first, and no one can promise a share price or trading volume. Building real investor interest takes time and results.
Do I lose control of my company?
No. You stay in charge and usually keep majority ownership. You'll have outside shareholders, a board and reporting duties, and we'll explain exactly what that means day to day.
How long does it take?
Listing typically takes under a year. The growth and acquisition phase that drives the bigger outcome usually runs 3 to 5 years.
What if I want to sell in the next year or two?
Then this probably isn't the right path, and a traditional sale may suit you better. We're happy to tell you that on the first call.
Are you a broker-dealer or investment bank?
No. Meraki Partners, LLC is an advisory firm. We don't sell securities or introduce you to investors. Where you need an auditor or securities attorney, you hire them directly, and we help you choose and manage them.
Can going public help me sell my company for more?
Often. Private businesses usually sell for a modest multiple of earnings; public companies with a growth story are often valued higher, and a public company can grow by acquisition before it sells. See going public vs selling to private equity.
How long before a public company can be sold?
There is no minimum, but the value usually comes from several years of growth and a track record as a public company.
Can founders sell shares along the way?
Yes, under Rule 144 after the holding period. We recommend a 12-month lock-up and gradual sales after that. See when you can sell.
Does being public make a company easier to acquire?
It can. Audited financials, public disclosure and a market price make it easier for a buyer to evaluate and value the business.
Not ready to talk yet? Ask for the free Building to Sell guide in the form below.
Which growth stage are you in? Answer 5 questions to see which levers matter most for your company. Find your stage
The difference could be life-changing. Hear us out.
Tell us about your business and we'll come back with an honest view of whether the playbook could work for you.