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In this episode of The Exit: Chris Vanderzyden, founder and CEO of Legacy Partners and a former CPA turned entrepreneur, doesn’t just talk about selling companies—she's lived it. Twice.

After experiencing the good, the bad, and the "wish-I-knew-that-earlier" of business exits, she set out to reinvent the process. Her mission? To help business owners walk away from their life's work not just with a check, but with peace of mind.

The Wake-Up Call: Chris shares how too many entrepreneurs are caught off guard—often approached by buyers with zero preparation. Letters of intent in hand, they’re suddenly scrambling to understand their business’s true value and what the deal means for their future. Her message is clear: Don’t wait for a knock at the door. Start planning today.

Chris built Legacy Partners around a simple idea: exiting a business is personal. It’s about money, sure—but it’s also about identity, timing, legacy, and life after the deal. Her team helps owners develop a “master exit plan” that includes:

Valuation early and often: Not just to know what your business is worth today—but what can be done to intentionally increase that value before selling.

Tactical tax planning: Like estate freezes and trusts—moves that take time and can’t be done in the eleventh hour.

Team building: From M&A attorneys to wealth managers, having the right specialists matters. (Spoiler: your real estate lawyer isn’t the one to negotiate your exit.)

What are Chris’s top takeaways?

Biggest mistake you can make? Waiting too long to plan—and failing to understand your EBITDA is more important than just growing revenue.

Timing is everything—externally (sector roll-ups, interest rates, market trends) and internally (don’t wait until you’ve “maxed out” the business).

Growth potential matters: Buyers want a runway ahead. If it looks like there’s no room left to scale, it can hurt your valuation.

It’s not about the top-line number—it’s what’s left after taxes, debt, and fees that really counts.

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Chris Vanderzyden is the President & CEO of Legacy Partners, LLC, an exit planning and M&A advisory firm dedicated to serving privately held, middle-market business owners, in creating and executing successful exit strategies resulting in the harvesting and preservation of wealth. She began her career as a CPA for Coopers & Lybrand, the company that later became PricewaterhouseCoopers following a merger, and subsequently served as an asset manager with Northwest Asset Management in Los Angeles. Following her positions in the corporate world, Chris became an entrepreneur and has successfully built and sold multiple businesses. She has over twenty years of experience consulting for M&A firms and privately held businesses as they grow and ultimately execute their exit plans.

Chris’s Latest Book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/2M2dWDc

Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisvanderzyden/

Website: https://legacypartnersllp.com/

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The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/