The FNDRS Playbook · PB04 · Positioning
The six value drivers
Buyers are pricing risk. Six things move it.
The idea
Buyers are pricing risk. Six things move it.
When a buyer moves a business from the bottom of the range to the top, it is because six risk factors have been answered. Most founders have strengths in two or three and blind spots in the rest.
The Go-To-Market Analysis (GTMA) scores all six.
Premium exits are not negotiated. They are prepared.
The figure
Six questions a buyer asks
Each driver is scored from one (weak) to five (strong). Two profiles are compared: a typical business at the first conversation, and one ready for market.
- 01Earnings qualityDo the numbers tie to cash and survive a Quality of Earnings (QoE) review?
- 02Owner independenceDoes the business run without you?
- 03Customer diversificationWould losing your top customer matter?
- 04Revenue visibilityContracted, recurring, or repeat?
- 05Growth evidenceIs growth documented and explainable?
- 06TransferabilityLicenses, leases, key people, systems: do they move with the business?
How to read it
A six-sided radar chart. Each axis is one thing buyers use to judge risk, scored from one (weak) to five (strong). A larger, rounder shape means lower perceived risk and a higher place in the range.
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.