For businesses valued from $5M to $100M+
What is my business worth?
The honest answer is that it depends on things a formula cannot see. Here is what actually sets the number, and how to find yours.
A multiple is the answer, not the question.
Most owners have heard a rule of thumb: some multiple of earnings, some percentage of revenue. Rules of thumb are how conversations start. They are almost never how transactions end.
What a buyer will actually pay depends on how much of your earnings survive their scrutiny, how much of your revenue recurs, how dependent the business is on you personally, and how many other credible buyers are sitting in the same process.
That last one is worth sitting with. The same company, marketed to one buyer or to twelve, is frequently not worth the same amount.
What moves the number most
- Adjusted EBITDAAnd which add-backs survive a buyer's scrutiny
- Recurring revenueContracted or repeat work as a share of the total
- Customer concentrationHow much rests on the largest few accounts
- Owner dependenceWhether the business runs without you in it daily
- Management depthWho stays, and what they hold together
- Quality of recordsHow much of diligence is confirmation versus discovery
- Growth trendThe direction of the last three years
- Competition among buyersThe one factor entirely within your control
What a valuation conversation involves
A conversation, not a questionnaire
Thirty to forty-five minutes with an advisor who works in your industry. We ask about the business, what you want, and your timing.
A look at your numbers, if you are comfortable
Three years of financials let us give you a real range instead of a generic one. Everything is reviewed under confidentiality, and nothing leaves our hands.
A range, with the reasoning behind it
We tell you what we think the market would pay, what is driving the high end, what is holding down the low end, and what would need to change to move it.
No obligation of any kind
Many owners we speak with are one to three years out. Some decide not to sell at all. Knowing your number is useful either way.
Request your confidential valuation.
Tell us a little about the business. An advisor who knows your industry will reach out within one business day.
- Strictly confidential, always
- No cost and no obligation
- Based on what buyers are paying in your sector right now