Built to Sell Radio

In 2006 Kelby Zorgdrager started DevelopIntelligence, an outsourced training provider that helps programmers develop new skills and adapt to ever-changing technologies.

The business snowballed as Zorgdrager onboarded most Fortune 500 giants in his space. However, Zorgdrager had a problem. The company was too dependent on him.

To ensure the business could succeed without him, Zorgdrager implemented a four-step system to replace himself as the rainmaker of his company.

The strategy worked. By 2020 Zorgdrager had grown the business to $12.1 million in revenue, which piqued the interest of some acquirers. A year later, Zorgdrager signed an acquisition offer from Pluralsight in a deal valued at $48.9 million.

In 2016 Trevr Smithlin and Dave Hanley founded AdvertiseCast, a marketplace connecting podcasters with advertisers. The company experienced tremendous growth, doubling revenue year-over-year until 2020. That's when the uncertainty triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic caused Smithlin and Hanley to consider their strategic options.

In March 2021, Smithlin and Hanley signed an acquisition agreement from Libsyn for $30 million.

In 2016 Channing Allen and his brother Courtland founded Indie Hackers, a blog and forum that encourages founders to transparently share their ideas and stories.

After only eight months, the brothers had grown the business to $8,000 in revenue when they received an unexpected email from Patrick Collison (co-founder and CEO of Stripe), who was looking to acquire the company.

Although tempted to keep building, Stripe's offer was too good to refuse. The brothers agreed to be acquired by Stripe in March 2017.

In 2012, Jaclyn Johnson founded Create & Cultivate, a media company that educates and inspires women to succeed in business.

By 2018, Johnson had grown Create & Cultivate to eight employees when an acquirer offered her a staggering $40 million. Unfortunately, the deal was too good to be true. When the acquirer discovered her hands-on management style, they pulled out.

Learning from her mistakes, Johnson implemented a collection of strategies to ensure Create & Cultivate could thrive without her.

By the end of 2019, Johnson had grown to $14 million in revenue ($4 million EBITDA) when acquirers came knocking again. This time she was ready. Create & Cultivate was acquired by Corridor Capital in a deal valued at $22 million.

In 2002 Chuck Crumpton started Medpoint to help businesses bring medical devices and pharmaceuticals to market. The company quickly took off after Crumpton landed a prominent blue-chip client.

It was a blessing and a curse.

At one point, the blue-chip customer made up 83% of Medpoint's revenue. Determined to reduce his customer concentration, Crumpton implemented a clever strategy to minimize his dependency.

The strategy worked as Crumpton successfully reduced his reliance below 50%, allowing him to sell Medpoint in 2020 for around five times EBITDA.

In 2009 Natalie Nagele and her husband, Chris, launched Postmark to help businesses deliver emails to their customers quickly.

A decade in, Nagele had grown the company to around 40 employees, which was when she began feeling burned out. The pull to explore new interests was the catalyst to accepting a life-changing acquisition offer from Active Campaign in 2022.

In 2020 veterinarian Dr. Joseph Marchell started Old Brown Dog Veterinary Partners (OBDVP) after identifying a unique opportunity to do a rollup of family-owned animal hospitals.

Marchell acquired three practices for around ten times EBITDA. He then implemented a streamlined operational strategy that resulted in the sale of OBDVP less than two years later for almost three times the purchase price.

In 2015 Nick Santora founded Curricula, a cyber security awareness training program that helps companies defend themselves against hackers. Santora created fun, cartoon training videos in contrast to the dull content that existed at the time.

Companies happily embraced Santora's approach. By 2021 he had grown Curricula to just over $2 million in annual recurring revenue when he accepted an acquisition offer from the cyber security giant Huntress for $22 million.

In 2008, Gavin Hammar started Sendible, a platform that allows companies to manage all their social media accounts from one place.

The company grew steadily until 2016, when Hammar hit a sales plateau. Challenged to combat a high churn rate, Hammar took several unique steps to humanize his business.

Becoming a more approachable brand worked. Sales increased by 30% year-over-year and by 2021, Sendible had 47 employees when they were approached by ASG with an acquisition offer Hammar couldn't refuse.

U.K.-based Nathan Winch started his career as a private equity investor after selling his first company, Winch Pharma, in 2017.

Since then, Winch has acquired over 20 businesses, with a focus on logistics and infrastructure companies. In the latest installment of Built to Sell Radio's Inside the Mind of an Acquirer series, you'll learn how to:

• Understand how an investor structures an acquisition.
• Build your management team to avoid an earn-out.
• Dodge the most common blunder made during due diligence.
• Avoid turning off an acquirer during the selling process.
• Prepare your company to be acquired.