by scottsylvan | Feb 16, 2026 | podcast
Buyers don’t pay more because they like your business. They pay more when they trust it. What drives that trust is evidence. Not stories. Not projections. Evidence. Optimism is a belief. Confidence is evidence. Sellers tell stories. Buyers pay for proof. When...
by scottsylvan | Feb 16, 2026 | podcast
You could be highly profitable and still be worth less than you think. Buyers don’t purchase profit — they buy reliable profit. Profit is a lagging indicator. It reflects decisions you’ve already made, not what a buyer can count on going forward. Buyers...
by scottsylvan | Feb 16, 2026 | podcast
If the business needs one person to hold it together, buyers won’t pay for the growth — they’ll discount the fragility. The founder who built everything, knows everything, and approves everything is not an asset in a sale. They are a liability. Buyers and...
by scottsylvan | Feb 16, 2026 | podcast
You can grow faster and still become less valuable. Some growth decisions increase risk faster than they increase profit. And in the buyer’s model, risk always shows up as a discount. Valuation doesn’t come from growth alone — it comes from the quality of...
by scottsylvan | Feb 16, 2026 | podcast
Buyers don’t pay for extra hustle. They pay for control. When an investor, private equity firm, or strategic buyer evaluates your company, the question they’re really asking is: can this business produce the same results every time, without depending on...
by scottsylvan | Feb 16, 2026 | podcast
Predictable revenue does one thing above everything else — it makes a buyer relax. Uncertainty is what buyers discount. When they see volatility in your numbers, inconsistent pipelines, and last-minute saves, they assume downside scenarios in their model. That...
by scottsylvan | Feb 15, 2026 | podcast
The biggest valuation haircut usually comes from risks you do not even realize you are broadcasting. Buyers don’t discount what is bad — they discount what is uncertain. A missing SOP is a ding. Uncertainty in the sales process is a ding. Missing HR documents...
by scottsylvan | Feb 15, 2026 | podcast
You can grow revenue and still make your company worth less. Most mid-market owners never examine that idea until a buyer sits across the table and the offer lands $2 million below what they expected. Exit strategy planning is not something you do when you decide to...
by scottsylvan | Feb 15, 2026 | podcast
Owner dependency is not leadership. It is concentrated risk — and risk always shows up in price terms and time to close. If your business can’t run without you, buyers will not pay a premium for it. They will price your absence. On a $1 million exit value, a 20...
by scottsylvan | Feb 15, 2026 | podcast
Most businesses cannot be sold because they cannot be handed off. The question every buyer is silently answering before they make an offer is simple: can this business work without the person who built it? If the answer is no, they discount. If the answer is yes, they...
