Inputs
What every owner starts with. Inputs are recorded as conditions of the engagement rather than scored against a target; they set the clock and the budget for everything else.
The elements
The four elements of inputs
Time, talent, capital, and demand. Every other element is built against these four.
01 · A1
Time
Years of runway before the owner wants out. Every other element is built against this clock.
What the assay measures
The owner’s stated exit horizon in years. Recorded as a condition, not scored against a target.
02 · A2
Talent
The people available to build the business, from the owner down.
What the assay measures
Headcount and role coverage of the leadership and delivery team relative to the plan.
03 · A3
Capital
Cash and credit available to invest ahead of returns.
What the assay measures
Cash on hand plus undrawn credit, expressed in months of operating expense.
04 · A4
Demand
Evidence that the market wants what the company sells.
What the assay measures
Pipeline volume, inbound rate, and win rate over the trailing twelve months.
How it is scored
Recorded, not targeted
Inputs are recorded, not targeted. Time, Talent, Capital, and Demand describe the owner’s starting conditions. Their today and target scores are equal by definition.
Where it is worked
Where FNDRS works on inputs
Each element is worked at a stage of the journey, and most sit in one of the six pillars of value. Here is where the inputs elements land.
The stages
Establish a company capable of becoming valuable rather than merely producing founder income. Baseline valuation, health check, constraint inventory, and the first roadmap.
Discovery, valuation, and analysis in the FNDRS process
The pillars
Growth potential
DmNot a hockey stick, a plan with evidence. Buyers pay for growth they can underwrite: a market with room, pricing that holds, and a motion that does not depend on the owner closing every deal.
Read the pillar
The families
Seven families, one table
The table reads left to right in the order value is created: what you start with, the engine, the multiple, the discount, the transfer, what you keep, and what all of it is for.
What you start with
Time, talent, capital, and demand. Every other element is built against these four.
See where your inputs elements stand
The exit score is the first assay: fifteen minutes, six pillars, and a first read on the elements that matter most.