{"id":6982,"date":"2021-10-01T14:15:59","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T04:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/?p=6982"},"modified":"2021-10-01T14:16:01","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T04:16:01","slug":"the-exit-selling-on-the-strategic-value-with-mac-lackey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/the-exit-selling-on-the-strategic-value-with-mac-lackey\/","title":{"rendered":"The Exit &#8211; Selling on the Strategic Value with Mac Lackey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-listen-on-apple-podcasts\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/selling-on-the-strategic-value-with-mac-lackey\/id1532346146?i=1000536727991\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Listen on Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-listen-on-spotify\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/2CN4kP7Lpo4hu4rcCF8Mmv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Listen on Spotify<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-listen-on-google-podcasts\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zb3VuZGNsb3VkLmNvbS91c2Vycy9zb3VuZGNsb3VkOnVzZXJzOjg4MjY1MjIyOC9zb3VuZHMucnNz\/episode\/dGFnOnNvdW5kY2xvdWQsMjAxMDp0cmFja3MvMTEyODY0NzYyOQ?sa=X&amp;ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiw-K_9qKjzAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQCg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Listen on Google Podcasts<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1128647629&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/theexitpodcast\" title=\"The Exit - Presented By Flippa\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">The Exit &#8211; Presented By Flippa<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/theexitpodcast\/ep54\" title=\"Selling on the Strategic Value with Mac Lackey\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">Selling on the Strategic Value with Mac Lackey<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Today we\u2019re talking with Mac Lackey, founder of Exit DNA, a company that helps business owners to understand the unique strategies that get results when it comes to an exit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Energy of a Startup<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mac says he thinks of his life in two big pieces, with the first half being all about soccer.&nbsp; He says growing up, all of his goals were soccer related. He played through college and even professionally briefly.&nbsp; One day, he woke up and thought there was really no future in it for him, and he wondered what he would do with the rest of his life.&nbsp; One of his teammates was an engineer that needed help in marketing for his business.&nbsp; Mac joined this early-stage startup of about six people and instantly fell in love with the energy of a startup.&nbsp; He says he loves that you can be doing something different every day and that there\u2019s always a lot to learn.&nbsp; Eventually, Mac would convince his engineer friend to resign and start a new business with him.&nbsp; They started an internet company in 1995, the early stages for that space.&nbsp; Mac says the company ended in a great result, and he was an entrepreneur forever more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Stereotypical Exit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first exit that Mac had was a very stereotypical one.&nbsp; He says for years he and his wife grinned away, eating PB&amp;J every day.&nbsp; By 1995 the internet space got very hot and Mac\u2019s company became an acquisition target.&nbsp; Of all of his exits, he says this is the only one where someone came knocking on his door.&nbsp; Their company had great clients that everyone wanted, and they ended up with three companies bidding on them.&nbsp; Mac never considered an exit when he was creating the company, so he was very pleased when it resulted in an eight figure exit.&nbsp; From then on, Mac was much more intentional about how he built up companies and how exits might play into their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lessons From a Handful of Exits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After his sixth exit in October 2018, Mac took a break for the first time in his working career.&nbsp; He took some time to think about what he had done well and the mistakes that he had made.&nbsp; One thing he realized is that he never sold a company based on a financial multiple.&nbsp; He had always sold based on the strategic value that he represented to a buyer.&nbsp; Often his companies became how an acquirer entered a new market, whether geographically or with a new product offering.&nbsp; Mac says you have to always be asking yourself who in the marketplace values what I\u2019m doing here.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Being Proactive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mac says he believes that as a founder, you have the opportunity to proactively reach out to prospective buyers to start a general dialogue.&nbsp; One of Mac\u2019s companies was sold to NBC sports, and it was the CEO of the division that acquired them that he had cold called two years prior.&nbsp; Mac simply had wanted to meet them because they were in the same space, and he had a lot of respect for what they were doing.&nbsp; The two met, hit it off, and stayed in touch.&nbsp; When it came time to create a market for the business, Mac called them back up and told them they were looking to sell and wanted to give them the opportunity to take a look.&nbsp; It was this relationship created years earlier that led to a smooth acquisition.&nbsp; Mac says he can\u2019t stress enough the importance of getting to know prospective buyers long before you\u2019re looking to sell.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Selling As An Option<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s often a trigger event that causes a company to sell, but if you can choose a time to exit, Mac recommends looking at a few things.&nbsp; He says to look at the industry you\u2019re in; what are the current trends?&nbsp; Look at macroeconomics; what\u2019s the view of the next couple of years?&nbsp; Mac says one of the biggest drivers for an acquisition is when industry dynamics shift.&nbsp; When you see the industry shifting, you have to be prepared to compete to survive, or you need to get out while the industry is consolidating.&nbsp; Mac says there have been other times when he\u2019s simply gotten offers that he couldn\u2019t refuse, even though they weren\u2019t necessarily looking to see.&nbsp; Mac says he\u2019s very tuned in to external dynamics and likes to constantly be in the market.&nbsp; We should all want the option to sell, not be forced to sell.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Black Swan Events<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another pivotal moment for Mac was that you need to always consider that there can be and probably will be some unforeseen black swan event.&nbsp; Mac himself has been through the dot com bubble, 9\/11, the financial crisis, and coronavirus.&nbsp; All of those things were non factors in business before they started, and it was one event that changed everything.&nbsp; Mac says one of his favorite books is called Only The Paranoid Survive.&nbsp; He recommends that everyone constantly asks themselves, if variables change overnight, what is plan B or C?&nbsp; Mac says it\u2019s just smart business to consider the what-ifs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The 8am Test<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine someone calls you up and says they want to buy your company, but they need to start the process at 8am the next morning.&nbsp; Most people would freak out and scramble to get things in some sort of order.&nbsp; Mac says from the very beginning you should create folders and organize files.&nbsp; In addition, you should take 30 minutes every week to make sure things are organized.&nbsp; Mac is a fan of doing little things slowly over time rather than waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Knowing What You Know Now, What Would You Tell Yourself Ten Years Ago?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mac says he would tell himself to always be looking at your company through the lens of a prospective buyer.&nbsp; He says you should always start designing your business with the option to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, visit exitdna.com or maclackey.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Google Podcasts The Exit &#8211; Presented By Flippa \u00b7 Selling on the Strategic Value with Mac Lackey Today we\u2019re talking with Mac Lackey, founder of Exit DNA, a company that helps business owners to understand the unique strategies that get results when it comes to an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":6983,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,19],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6982"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6982"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=6982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}