Kristie Shifflette built a 13-location Orangetheory Fitness empire from scratch—bootstrapping a capital-hungry business, personally guaranteeing leases, and taking on risk most founders wouldn't touch. In the end, it paid off for Kristie and in this episode, you'll discover how to:

• Bootstrap a capital-intensive business without giving up control

• Reduce your risk when taking on an investor

• Attract entrepreneurial employees who will care as much as you do

• Think about the $10 million milestone (and why it matters to private equity)

• Know when to take some chips off the table—and when to double down

• Ace management presentations with an acquirer

• Play hard to get (even when you want to sell)

• Get an acquirer to bump up their offer

• Max out an earn-out payment—even if you don't quite hit your targets

• Spot an acquisition offer that's likely to be re-traded