Ep. 315 — Ryan: The Five Exit Options Most Owners Reduce to Two

6 min read

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · Amazon Music · iHeartRadio · Pandora · RSS

Episode Summary

Someone calls me every week and says the same thing: “Ryan, I want out.” Out of what? Your job, or the financial asset? Those are two completely different conversations, and almost nobody runs them as separate seats. This episode kicks off a five-part miniseries on exit options, and I sat down with Scott to lay the groundwork so the interviews that follow (Brent Beshore on private equity, Tommy Mello on strategics, Walker Deibel on acquisition entrepreneurs) actually mean something when you hear them. We walk through the five real options: internal, acquisition entrepreneur, ESOP, private equity, and strategic buyer. Each one hits your W-2 role differently. Each one monetizes the asset differently. Each one carries a different deal structure based on whether the buyer is paying for the intrinsic risk of the cash flow or a strategic premium. Most owners compress those five into two: take payments from your partner for ten years, or gut the company and sell to a competitor. Both end in regret. There’s an infinite middle between them, and it starts with knowing what you actually want and what your financial targets really are.

Watch on YouTube

## Top 10 Takeaways
  1. There are five exit options (internal, acquisition entrepreneur, ESOP, private equity, strategic). Most owners only see two.
  2. “I want out” is two different conversations: out of the job, or out of the asset?
  3. You can own equity without a job. You can hold a job without equity. Run the seats separately.
  4. Internal sales get paid out of the company’s cash flow. Your upfront check is small, your control is high.
  5. Acquisition entrepreneurs arrive with their own vision for the company. Plan to cash out, not stick around.
  6. An ESOP monetizes the business without changing operations. Great for the owner who still wants to lead.
  7. Private equity buys for a rate of return on a clock. Ask what fund you’re in and when they exit.
  8. Strategic buyers pay a premium for redundancies, geography, or vertical integration. Your role is whatever survives the merger.
  9. Without clarity on what you want, a $10M offer and an $8M offer are impossible to compare honestly.
  10. Intentional means today’s trade-off has a filter, not just a price tag attached to it.

Sound Bites

“Ryan, I want out. I’m like, out of what? Your job or this financial asset?” (@TBD) — Ryan Tansom

“I don’t get a lot of phone calls of people going, yeah, I want out of this asset that kicks off a million dollars a year in mailbox money, because it’s a good asset and obviously it’s working.” (@TBD) — Ryan Tansom

“It’s either take your money over time, long, dramatic, conflict-ridden with partners and family, or gut the company and sell to a strategic buyer and regret it.” (@TBD) — Ryan Tansom

“There’s an infinite amount of ways to structure your ownership sale, and a lot of different ways to handle your role. It all depends on what you want.” (@TBD) — Ryan Tansom

“Versus doing it, regretting it years later, and having a podcast eight years later, like me.” (@TBD) — Ryan Tansom

About This Episode

Solo Ryan teaching episode with Scott, the marketing coordinator who runs podcast production, sitting in to ask clarifying questions and keep Ryan from talking to himself for thirty minutes. This is the kickoff of a five-part Exit Options miniseries, setting the framework before guest interviews with Brent Beshore (private equity), Tommy Mello (strategic buyers), Walker Deibel (acquisition entrepreneurs), and Rachel (family transition). Ryan walks through the five categories, how each one affects the owner’s role and the deal structure, and why almost every owner compresses the real choice set down to two before they ever get a chance to make the right decision.

Resources Mentioned

  • Brent Beshore, Permanent Equity — Upcoming interview on private equity and a unique long-hold structure.
  • Tommy Mello — Upcoming interview on strategic buyers and rolling up garage door companies.
  • Walker Deibel, Buy Then Build — Upcoming interview on search funds and acquisition entrepreneurs.
  • Rachel — Upcoming interview on a large family business transition.
  • Dave Deal, Prairie Capital Advisors — Referenced for past ESOP episodes and the financial math of internal transitions.
  • Paul Moffitt — Referenced for the family office side of private equity.
  • Ted Schluter — Past episode on strategic buyers and what they actually want from your company.
  • Dan Sullivan, Who Not How — Referenced on the freedom of time, relationships, and purpose.
  • Rob Dubay, Ten Year Thinking — Past episode referenced for long-horizon planning.
  • Intentional Growth Boot Camp — In-person, November 2–3 at Bethel University, Minnesota. $5,000 first ticket, half-off after, capped at 20 participants.
  • Intentional Growth Training — The source of the five exit option framework Ryan walks through.

Connections

Phase + Module:

Milestones:

Concepts referenced:

Graph View