The Path to Exit
Episodes
38 | The Entrepreneur's Dilemma: When Should You Sell or Raise Capital?
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When is the right time to sell your business or raise capital? And why would you consider a transaction when business is booming? Founders often delay...
37 | Why Retention Is Now Driving Software Company Valuations
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Retention is becoming an increasingly important factor in how software companies are valued, and many founders are not prepared for the level of scrut...
36 | 2026 Software M&A Outlook: Valuations, Buyers, and What’s Changed
13 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Software founders planning to exit or raise capital in 2026 need a clear read on where M&A is heading after a volatile few years. In this episode,...
35 | Pitfalls to Avoid on the Path to an Exit (with Goldman Sachs)
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many founders wait for the “perfect moment” to sell or fixate on hitting a specific valuation target, but both can lead to missed opportunities. I...
34 | Assembling Your Software M&A Dream Team
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Software founders often underestimate who needs to be involved to successfully sell their business or raise capital, and how much value the right team...
33 | The Do's & Don'ts of Hiring an Investment Bank When Selling Your Business
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When founders set out to sell their business, many underestimate how important it is to choose the right investment bank, and how costly it can be to ...
32 | How to Navigate Exclusivity with Buyers & Investors
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When founders lack experience in selling a business, they’ll often accept what buyers lead with, especially the demand for an exclusivity period. In...
31 | The Hidden Risks of Minority Investments for SaaS Founders
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
SaaS founders often lean toward pursuing a minority deal when looking to raise capital because they believe it means they can maintain control of the ...
30 | How to Help Prevent a Retrade When Selling Your Business
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Retrades are when a buyer or investor tries to renegotiate the valuation price or key terms after a deal is agreed—and it’s always to the founder’...
29 | How PE Fund & Partner Dynamics Impact Their Bids for Your Business
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Understanding the internal dynamics of a PE fund—such as where it is in its lifecycle, who is championing the deal, and how decisions are made—is ...
28 | Why Sell Your SaaS Business When You’re Winning?
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why would a founder sell their business when it’s thriving? It’s a question we hear often—and what we call the “entrepreneur’s dilemma.” I...
27 | How to Prepare to Sell Your Company
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To make a strong impression on the right buyers and avoid unnecessary complications when selling your business, it’s essential to have everything in...
26 | GTM Practices for SaaS Growth & Exit Outcomes (with Ryan Allis, SaasRise)
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many SaaS founders struggle with go-to-market (GTM) strategy, often underestimating how it impacts valuation and exit potential. In this episode, grow...
25 | Harnessing AI for Founder-Led Businesses (with Ardis Kadiu, Element451)
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI is transforming vertical SaaS, but many founders are unsure how to approach it. In this episode, Ardis Kadiu—Founder and CEO of Element451, an AI...
24 | The Subjectivity of Valuation in SaaS M&A
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many SaaS founders view valuation as a straightforward calculation of their company's worth, but it’s far more nuanced. Software valuation ofte...
23 | Strategies for Selling Your SaaS Company to a Competitor
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Founders are often hesitant to include competitors in the process when looking to sell their business. In this episode, managing directors Mike Lyon a...
22 | Balancing SaaS Growth: Upselling vs. New Customer Acquisition vs. Pricing
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are three primary vectors SaaS founders use to grow their business: upselling to existing customers, acquiring new customers, and raising prices...
21 | How to Structure & Manage a SaaS Board of Directors
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
SaaS founders often have a love-hate relationship with their boards of directors, finding them alternatively invaluable or frustrating. Creating and m...
20 | Understanding SaaS FinTech & Payments Opportunities with Utopaya
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A significant trend SaaS founders are facing is integrating fintech products into vertical businesses, particularly payments. In this episode, Brian A...
19 | 7 Questions Founders Should Ask PE Firms
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Interest from private equity firms can be flattering, but founders need to understand that not every PE firm will be a good fit for your company. Foun...
18 | 4 Common Milestones That Lead SaaS Founders to Sell Their Business
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We typically see four main tipping points for founders when they’re deciding to sell their business or to raise capital. In this episode, managing d...
17 | Common Legal Diligence Issues Founders Face During M&A Transactions
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
SaaS founders are often overwhelmed by or underprepared for the legal diligence and purchase agreement negotiation during an M&A transaction. In t...
16 | Generating & Evaluating Interest from PE Firms
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
SaaS founders typically receive frequent emails and calls from private equity firms and it can be difficult to know which ones are worth responding to...
15 | Founder Tax & Estate Planning with Goldman Sachs
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s easy for founders to put tax and estate planning on the back burner when you're focused on running a business and thinking about a sale, h...
14 | 2024 Founder Focus & SaaS M&A Outlook
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s easy to get swept up in the speculations of an election year, and founder-led SaaS companies will likely wonder how high the stakes are for the...
13 | How to Avoid Miscalculating Key SaaS Metrics
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 7, we discussed key metrics for selling a SaaS business, but getting data into the correct format to calculate these metrics can be difficu...
12 | Why You Should Hire an Investment Bank When Selling Your Company
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Founders are sometimes tempted to run the process of selling their business themselves in order to save money on a banker fee. In this episode, Mike L...
11 | Vertical SaaS + Payments: What Founders Need to Know for M&A
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A major trend in SaaS has been vertical-specific companies integrating payment processing as a strategy to increase revenue and improve attractiveness...
10 | The Reason So Many Private Equity Firms Call You
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Founders typically hear from about 40 - 60 PE firms and strategic buyers annually who are looking to connect and compare notes. In this episode, manag...
9 | SaaS M&A: The State of the Market in 2023 & Beyond
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Macro trends in the M&A markets can influence a founder's outcome when looking to execute a deal process. In this episode, managing directors...
8 | How Hostaway Turned a Crisis into an Opportunity & Thrived During the Pandemic
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Founders of Hostaway, Marcus Rader and Saber Kordestanchi, share their experiences of dramatically scaling a vacation rental property management SaaS ...
7 | Key Metrics for Selling a SaaS Business
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The metrics you use (and how you position them in the context of your business) will have a significant effect on the interest you can attract from bu...
6 | How Service Autopilot Used Content Marketing to Grow Their SaaS Business with Jonathan Pototschnik
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Pototschnik, founder of Service Autopilot, shares his experience of using content marketing to foster rapid growth in his software business, ...
5 | Rapid Growth and a Competitive Process with Anthony Showalter of Pear Deck
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Showalter, co-founder of Pear Deck, shares how his team managed the operational challenges of rapid growth and the experience of running a com...
4 | Transaction Options: Minority vs. Majority vs. Full Sale
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Different transaction types offer different trade offs in the form of liquidity, control, and upside. In this episode, Mike Lyon and Miles Lacey discu...
3 | The Importance of a Competitive Process
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The outcome of your M&A or capital raise transaction will depend in large part on your ability to foster competition as part of the transaction pr...
2 | Company Culture and Deciding to Sell with Sabari Raja
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sabari Raja, co-founder of Nepris (now Pathful) shares her journey of starting an EdTech company, building the company (including an awesome culture),...
1 | The Entrepreneur's Dilemma: Selling into Growth
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Founders whose businesses are currently experiencing rapid growth may be hesitant to sell a stake in their business. In this episode, Mike Lyon and Je...