The FNDRS Playbook · PB08 · Positioning
The buyer lens scorecard
This is what a buyer’s first internal memo says about you.
The idea
This is what a buyer’s first internal memo says about you.
Before an acquirer makes an offer, someone on their team writes a memo. It scores the business on a handful of dimensions and assigns a preliminary multiple.
The discovery session of the Go-To-Market Analysis (GTMA) is built to write that memo first.
Premium exits are not negotiated. They are prepared.
The figure
Six dimensions, strong and weak
| Dimension | What a 5 looks like | What a 1 looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings quality | Accrual books, reviewed statements, revenue ties to the bank | Cash basis, mixed personal expenses, unreconciled |
| Owner independence | A management team runs it; the owner is optional | The owner is sales, operations, and the license holder |
| Customer concentration | No customer above 15% | The top customer above 25% |
| Revenue quality | Contracted or recurring | Project-based, one-time |
| Growth and margin trend | Three years up, margins stable or rising | Volatile, or declining |
| Transferability | Contracts assignable; leases and licenses move | Personal guarantees, non-assignable, key-person risk |
Each buyer weighs these differently. Together they suggest a preliminary position in the range: low, mid, or high.
How to read it
A table of six things a buyer scores, with what strong and weak look like on each. Taken together, the scores suggest where in the multiple range a buyer would place the business.
Timing
The time to start the conversation is now
How far out you feel is not the signal. Buyers read the trailing numbers, so time before a sale is room to move them, not a waiting room. A founder with a number in mind may reach it in one sale or in two: a majority stake now, with equity rolled into the buyer’s company for a second sale later. The sale itself, once you sign, runs in four phases.
Read the exit timing windowFour phases, for a company that is ready. The conversation can start any time before.
Which category. Where in the range.
More in Positioning
See where your business sits
The Go-To-Market Analysis (GTMA) places your business on these frameworks with your own numbers, before a buyer does.