by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 17, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: Post-acquisition regret peaks 60 to 180 days after selling your business. Reduce it with Titan’s Thesis exit criteria set before you sell, therapist support after close, and A+/A-/B deal retrospective grading. Meeting your criteria means you won —...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 14, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: Buyers who steal information show a specific pattern: asking secret-sauce questions before the LOI is signed. Pre-LOI questions should stay revenue, profits, and employees. Post-LOI questions get specific. 95% of buyers are legitimate. Watch the 3-5%...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 13, 2026 | Business Growth
Direct answer: A 90 day game plan for new hires reverse-engineers success. Ask what would need to be true 90 days out. Map skills, scripts, org chart, decision bands, check-in cadence. Extend to 180 days per position. The playbook prevents 3-week quits. Filmed in...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 12, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: Seller financing means you become the bank for part of the deal. A-level deals may be asked for 5-15%. C-level deals may be required to provide 25-50%. Always include an “if you don’t pay, I get the company back” clause. Filmed in...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 11, 2026 | Business Growth
Direct answer: Build a hiring process in four steps: define role SOPs, write the job description, create a hiring profile, then develop scenario questions. Never hire anyone who “can fog a mirror.” Use two-interviewer teams and expect one unicorn in 100...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 9, 2026 | Due Diligence
Direct answer: Excell Eddie and Excell Edwina are Scott’s names for the buyer-side accountants who evaluate your business at exit. Their role and function is to protect the buyer’s investment through spreadsheet analysis. Understanding this persona helps...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 8, 2026 | Business Growth
Direct answer: Three types of employees emerge when you announce a deal: Group 1 wants the deal (“Let’s freaking go”), Group 2 objects vocally but complies, and Group 3 sabotages behind your back. Typically Group 3 is a family member or cushy-job...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 7, 2026 | Business Growth
Direct answer: The accountability conversation is required for growth, scale, or exit. Roll it out over 180 days: 90 days talking, 90 days enforcing. Expect management resistance because they will lose friend-employees. One weak manager can ruin the entire growth or...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 6, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: Mental toughness during a business exit prevents you from taking less than you deserve. Fight the three-front battle: personal pressures (family, lifestyle math), business ops (a key person runs without you), and deal-side games (freeze-out, squeeze...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 5, 2026 | Business Growth
Direct answer: Your accounting department can hold back scale and exit when it falls behind (3-6 months is common), when a family member accountant blocks help, or when books aren’t ready for a quality of earnings report. Fix it 2-5 years pre-exit. Filmed in...
