M&A2026-04-186 min
Selling a company without losing the room
Diligence kills more deals than price. A short note on sequencing, disclosure and keeping momentum.
Sequence the disclosure
Tell buyers the bad news early and in your own words. A problem disclosed in week one is a negotiation point. The same problem found in week nine is a trust event, and trust events reprice deals or end them.
Keep the operator out of the weeds
The single largest hidden cost of a sale is the founder's attention. We run the process so the business keeps performing through it — because a soft quarter mid-diligence costs more than any fee.
Two live parties, minimum
Optionality is the only real leverage a seller has. We aim to keep at least two credible parties in the process to the end, and we are candid when there is only one.