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Episode 201

Mark McClain’s Path to a $150M Exit and Sailing Far Beyond

This week on The Exit: Mark McClain, CEO and founder of SailPoint Technologies, shares his journey from corporate roles at IBM and HP to becoming an “accidental entrepreneur” with his first startup, Waveset.

After a successful exit selling Waveset to Sun Microsystems for $150 million, Mark co-founded SailPoint, which has since become a thriving company with thousands of employees.

SailPoint’s story includes multiple exits: a sale to private equity firm Thoma Bravo, going public in an IPO, and then being taken private again.

Mark discusses the challenges and lessons learned through these transitions, including the importance of building relationships with potential acquirers and being prepared for unexpected opportunities.

For more details and insights from his entrepreneurial journey, listen to the latest episode of The Exit.

Personal Bio: 

Mark has been an entrepreneur in the identity management market for more than 20 years, co-founding two companies that have driven innovation in the market. SailPoint (formerly NYSE:SAIL), has built its business on the foundational principle that identity is power. They have been in business for more than 15 years, and the company continues to grow with profitability. Their commitment to innovation and consistently high customer satisfaction are among the reasons the biggest, most complex organizations in the world rely on SailPoint to help them improve security while staying agile.

Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcclainceo/

SailPoint: https://www.sailpoint.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/

YOUR HOST

Steve McGarry

An entrepreneur, content creator, and investor based in sunny Tampa, Florida. In 2015, while living in San Francisco, Steve sold his first fintech startup LendLayer to Max Levchin’s (founder of PayPal) consumer finance company Affirm.

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