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The Exit Podcast
In a world surrounded by opportunity The Exit talks to those people who have bought and sold businesses. In 30 minutes, you will learn how they did it, why they did it and a world of EXITS, currently occupied by a small few but accessible to most.
Episode 183
From Food-tech Nonprofit to Zomato Acquisition with Srishti Kawatra
Srishti Kawatra describes her journey from founding her food distribution nonprofit while working at her corporate job in India, to being acquired by one of India’s largest food-tech companies, Zomato.
She discusses how what started as a partnership inquiry turned into the offer, and what specifically made Zomato so interested in acquiring her business.
She wasn’t planning to exit, but she shares how she ultimately concluded that moving forward with the sale was the right choice for business.
Since then, the brand has grown by 1000x, and Srishti is now a Stanford MBA graduate and general partner at the 24 Fund, a Silicon-Valley-based seed fund.
Episode 182
The Journey Beyond the Sale: Lessons from John Rood’s Exit
John Rood, the author of “Beyond the Exit”, shares his journey of exiting his test prep business, Next Step Test Preparation, and the challenges he faced post-exit, including uncertainty, depression, and illness.
He discusses the importance of planning for your future beyond the exit, highlighting the need for entrepreneurs to envision their post-exit lives and embrace the transition.
He also provides insights from his upcoming book, which includes interviews with 71 entrepreneurs who have undergone similar experiences
Episode 180
The Moving Parts of a $100M Exit with Ben Faw
Ben Faw has gone through two exits, one of which closed for a $100M valuation. In this conversation, Ben discusses how he selected the business to build, his criteria for finding an M&A advisor at the beginning of the exit process, and some metrics the buyer was looking at that ultimately led to closing the deal.
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.
Episode 178
Soldier to Seller: Jon Caldwell’s Amazon Exit Story
Jon Caldwell, an entrepreneur who transitioned from the army to business, shares his journey from starting a pet supplements brand on Amazon to its successful exit.
He highlights the importance of pricing strategies, noting how testing different price points was crucial for his product’s success.
Episode 176
The Great Wealth Transfer with Jill Lloyd
Jill Lloyd is a financial advisor and truly influential when it comes to financial advisory for women. Jill shares her experiences of liquidity events and being prepared for it, including understanding what it means to experience a huge wealth transfer and what you need to know.
Episode 175
Why Money is Key to Validating an Idea with Raja Skogland
Raja has had multiple exits but her most successful exit all came down to timing. Raja has an incredible story and shares her knowledge in this hugely educational interview for anyone looking to grow and exit a business. Listen to find out why Raja puts so much emphasis on the value of money when it comes to building a business.
Episode 174
Playing Hard To Get, To Get the Deal Done with Robbie Hardy
This week on The Exit: From selling her own company to mentoring other women entrepreneurs. This episode of the exit is a full circle entrepreneurial story from starting a business, building it into a successful company, to exiting and becoming an investor helping other women grow their businesses. Robbie tells how timing is everything, she […]
Episode 173
Building and Exiting the World’s First Voice Analytics Companies with Alysia Silberg
From developing the world’s first voice analytics-driven sales enablement application to working at the UN in championing women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, Alysia Silberg has had a remarkable career and she’s not slowing down. When Alysia built Acceleforce, an AI voice analytics company and the first of its kind in the world, she never expected to exit to one of their first customers. Since that exit, Alysia has worked in VC funding and most recently started Unemployable AI, a company dedicated to transforming businesses through tailored AI strategies.
Episode 172
Achieving Financial Freedom by 40 with Jennifer Pereira
This week on The Exit: Founder and Managing Partner of the Celestial Group. Jennifer Pereira, shares her goals for achieving financial freedom and why you need to change your mindset about investing in and acquiring cash flowing businesses to be successful.
Episode 171
Treating Marketplace Businesses Like They’re Ecosystems with Elias Chavando
This week on The Exit, host Steve McGarry sits down with marketplace expert Elias Chavando. The two discuss the intricacies that come with scaling a marketplace and how the strategies used by Elias can be applied to any type of business.
Episode 170
The Intricacies of Exiting to a Manufacturer with Mark Samuel
This week on The Exit: Mark Samuel, with over 20 years in consumer product industries, delves into how to sell a business to a manufacturer. He recounts his first exit from a meal management venture for sports enthusiasts, where he strategically scaled the business over six years. Faced with a crucial decision to scale further or exit, Mark opted for the latter, selling to an established manufacturer. In this episode, he discusses achieving a perfect sale, navigating the disconnection from the business, and preparing an Ecom business for a successful exit.
Episode 169
How to Grow from $0 to $9M, Exit & then Do it all Again with Seth Waite
This week on The Exit: Seth Waite shares his entrepreneurial journey, highlighting early successes like selling his first digital company at 20. After leaving law school, he founded and sold several content and marketing businesses, achieving remarkable 95% YoY growth for six consecutive years in one venture, and taking the next business from $0 to $9M. Gain insights into his numerous exits, survival strategies, and negotiating the perfect exit. Plus, learn the intricacies of pivoting and adapting for success in the dynamic business landscape.
Episode 168
Raising $70 Million and Going Public with Dr. Steve Fox
This week on The Exit: Dr. Steve Fox orchestrated a groundbreaking dental hygiene revolution by assembling top minds, raising $70 million, and securing a patent to enhance teeth remineralization. Releasing 68 patents, he took the company public, achieving the best-performing stock in the U.S. across all exchanges in Q1 1997. Despite this success, Dr. Fox decided to exit the business, spending 18 years developing his next product. His journey exemplifies perseverance, fortitude, and strategic product launch timing.
Episode 167
Busting The Most Common Investment Myths with Steffi Baker
This week on The Exit: Steffi Baker, a co-founder, investor, and former competitive figure skater, transitioned to London for her MBA after participating in the Olympics’ opening ceremony. Witnessing women facing wealth growth challenges due to societal stereotypes, she co-founded the High Net Worth Women Institute. This platform empowers individuals, especially women, to excel in investing and wealth creation by leveraging personal leadership skills. Steffi shares essential founder tips, emphasizing the importance of exit plans and offering do’s and don’ts for approaching investors.
Episode 166
How to Sell a Business That’s Not Yet Profitable with Diego Sampaio
This week on The Exit: Diego Sampaio embarked on a stellar career in technology from a young age, creating websites at 12 and establishing a web hosting service for Brazil at 16. At 18, he founded his first company, initiating a remarkable entrepreneurial journey with a number of successful exits, even for initially unprofitable companies. Diego’s experiences offer valuable insights into communicating core values to potential buyers beyond mere profitability. He shares his inspiring journey, along with tips on preparing a business for exit and other trade secrets.
Episode 165
Growing to $12M in Annual Revenue and Knowing When To Exit with Redg Snodgrass
This week on The Exit: Redg Snodgrass reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, starting at an eBay startup and later founding a successful Apple dating app, a global events organization and exiting ReadWrite, a media platform for entrepreneurs, after a $12M investment and achieving $12M in revenue. Redg shares his story of resilience, acceptance, and the crucial lesson of knowing when to let go. Tune in to hear about his experience in navigating the dynamic startup world and making tough decisions for long-term success.
Episode 164
The Intricate Relationship Between Failure and Success with Helene Guillaume
This week on The Exit: Helene Guillaume, a dedicated athlete and founder of Wild AI, aims to revolutionize women’s sports by addressing their unique needs. Recognizing gaps in female sports experiences, she established Wild AI to research training aligned with women’s bodies and menstrual cycles, securing $2.5M in funding. Helene draws parallels between sports and business challenges, emphasizing the value of failure in both spheres. Her insights on failure’s role in success and the intersection of sports and entrepreneurship make for an intriguing discussion.
Episode 163
A $10M Exit to Yahoo with Eric Marcoullier
This week on The Exit: Eric Marcoullier went through college wanting to be a DJ, but when he bought a copy of Wired magazine, a lightbulb went off and he knew that the internet was where he would make his money. He transitioned into online publishing and played a key role in IGN’s launch, which later went public and sold for $650M to News Corp. Eric also co-founded MyBlogLog, a social network for the blogger community, acquired by Yahoo for $10M. The episode explores his insights from two major exits and his efforts to assist other founders in achieving their exit goals.
Episode 162
Exiting the World’s Largest Boat Rental Marketplace with Sascha Mornell
This week on The Exit: From the Japanese ice cream industry to US Federal Defense, Sascha Mornell has worked in vastly different industries, but throughout his career, achieving an exit has been the common denominator.
Episode 161
Turning a Passion for Chicken Wings into an Exit with Adam Lippin
This week on The Exit: Adam Lippin is a master at launching and excelling in diverse industries, achieving two remarkable exits. First, he introduced Buffalo wings to NYC before an exit to Dunkin Donuts. Then, he founded Cuddlist, turning it into a network of solace providers before another successful exit. Now, with Hear Me, he’s fighting loneliness and promoting mental health. This episode offers invaluable lessons to entrepreneurs, celebrating relentless experimentation and following one’s passions no matter where they lead.
Episode 160
From the Kitchen to Unilever: Jaime Schmidt’s Exit Story
This week on The Exit: Jaime Schmidt’s entrepreneurial journey began when she left her dissatisfying corporate job to create products in her kitchen. She initially made Kombucha and hot sauces but shifted focus when she became pregnant, developing skincare and natural deodorant. She went from local markets to major stores in 30 countries, including Costco, Target, and Walmart. An offer from Unilever marked a significant milestone. Tune in to learn about Jaime’s remarkable journey, scaling products from her kitchen, and the lessons she’d apply if rewriting her entrepreneurial story.
Episode 159
12 Key Factors to Focus on when Scaling Your Business for an Exit with Greg Sloan
In this week’s episode of The Exit, Greg Sloane shares his journey of scaling his financial services business for an exit. After surviving the Global Financial Crisis, he decided to grow the business and later plan for retirement. Facing a lower-than-expected external valuation, Greg identified and improved 12 key factors, doubling the business’s value in three years. However, finding a suitable buyer proved to be the most challenging aspect of his exit journey. Tune in to discover the ups and downs of his acquisition discussions and the lessons learned.