Introducing V2 of The Annual Exit Planning Workbook

It is hard to believe it has been a year since the Band released our first edition of the Annual Exit Planning Workbook. Since then, we have had the chance to present and send it to hundreds of software founders so that they could start to envision their dream exit and understand the steps to start taking in order to achieve it. We like to think that this workbook is truly a collection of a thousand experiences of founders we have had the pleasure of working with, and we are always looking for ways to improve and change the material.

This past year, as we showcased the workbook at many events we actively invited founders to not only complete it but also give feedback and let us know what's missing. We are excited to release our revamped “Version 2”, with the hope to continue building off of ongoing feedback and we invite every founder to play a role in its development. 

So what is new?

Big Band received a lot of feedback on how to define and mitigate risks as well as how to tell a story with your metrics.

As you identify the risks in your business today, the answer is not always to make them disappear. Potential buyers are eager to find gaps for value creation within the business as it stands today, and having a plan for mitigation or building strategy off of your risks can turn into an enticing incentive on the buy-side. For example, we listed some of the top identified risks we have seen and how they can be staged for value creation:

 Secondly, it is not only important to understand how your key metrics are standing today but from a year over year perspective as well. Metrics are the key to communicating success, and it is not useful to throw historical perspectives out the window. Your metrics are pieces of your company's story and show the growth and payoff of initiatives and strategy.

We worked in a spot for you to compare your metrics year over year in an attempt to tell the story instead of “reading the cover”. Here are examples of how you may tell a story using your metrics:

• Increased marketing expenditure bolstered logo acquisition

• New contract structure + price increase boosted ACV and improved NRR

• Gross margin increase as we shifted to increasing SaaS revenue and diminished reliance on service revenue

Big Band is excited to present this refreshed workbook to you all and remain eager to continue building off of the foundation using the voices of more founders.

• Feel free to download it here!

•  If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to connect with Kevin here and drop him a message.

THE PLAYLIST (What We're Watching, Reading, and Listening to)

•  Chenmark’s Weekly Thoughts: Lee’s Donuts - “Your business will grow to the same extent that YOU do”

• The AI-Powered Solopreneur - Arvid Kahl, friend of the Band talks about how AI has transformed his strategy for building his business

• SBA’s New Approach to Rollover Equity - How the recent shift in SBA funding may level the playing field for searchers

IRL (Where You Can Find Us)

• Chris Reedy, our Head of Acquisitions, will be presenting at Main Street Summit October 8-10th. Let us know if you plan to attend and would like to attend his session on Planning for an Exit: Software Edition

• Several members of the Big Band team will be in Chicago for the SaaS Academy events October 23-25 and OCTOBER 27-29, CHICAGO, IL. We are eager to connect with anyone planning to attend!

Join The Band

We’re building our database with the best leaders and operators out there. If you know exceptionally talented people that may one day want to work with us, please have them get in touch with us at [email protected] or fill out the form on our Connect page.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? If so, subscribe by clicking the button below and follow along with our journey!