How to Scale and Exit Your Business (Brian Franco)

Plan the exit early: Brian only invests in companies he believes he can sell within five years, and he urges owners to build every day as if a liquidity event is inevitable.

Buyers pay for businesses that have systems, SOPs, and leadership depth — not for owners who ARE the system. Removing the founder as the bottleneck is what raises the valuation multiple.

A fractional or full-time CFO creates the measurements, predictable revenue, and risk mitigation that private equity underwrites to — a good bookkeeper is a historian, a CFO drives the future.

Debt is a tool, not a four-letter word: structured correctly into a transaction, leverage amplifies investor returns and lets you access larger, better-capitalized platforms.

Rolling equity gives founders a 'second bite of the apple' — sell the majority to de-risk personally while keeping upside when the company sells again two to three times over.

Only about 30% of family businesses successfully transition to the second generation; ESOPs are often a cleaner path to reward the team and keep management engaged.

Before selling, answer 'What are you exiting into?' — clarify your identity and purpose beyond the transaction so you don't lose yourself the way founders do when they close the doors.