The roadmap to selling your business with Alexis Grant
Scaling to sell: How to prepare your business for acquisition
Building a business isn’t just about hitting revenue milestones.
It’s about knowing when to scale, when to sell, and how to maximize value.
For Alexis Grant, Founder & CEO of They Got Acquired, the journey to helping entrepreneurs navigate acquisitions started with her own experiences selling two media businesses. She realized that many founders, especially those in the six-to-eight-figure range, struggle to find the right guidance when considering an exit. Now, she’s on a mission to demystify the acquisition process and help founders sell on their terms.
In this episode, Alexis shares key insights on preparing your business for a sale, why profitability matters more than revenue, and how to choose the right advisors for a smooth transaction. Whether you’re building to sell or just want to run a stronger, more scalable business, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Validate your ideas with real-world input: Don’t rely on assumptions. Broadly evaluate to ensure your product is solving genuine customer problems
- Stay nimble while balancing vision and customer needs: Ashby’s success came from staying adaptable. When market conditions shift, reprioritize product development to address customer pain points
- Empower your team with purpose and autonomy: Build a team culture that gives employees the freedom to innovate while staying aligned with company goals
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Alexis Grant
(03:16) From journalism to entrepreneurship: Alexis’ unexpected journey
(06:44) The power of curiosity in business success
(09:42) Selling a business without knowing the process
(13:03) When is the right time to sell? Avoiding burnout before exit
(16:40) The profit-first mindset: Why it matters more than revenue
(20:56) M&A red flags: What buyers look for in due diligence
(25:26) The importance of trusted advisors in the acquisition process
(30:19) Owner dependency: Why it makes businesses unsellable
(36:34) 2025 M&A trends: What’s changing in the market?
(41:23) How private equity is reshaping acquisitions in accounting
(45:03) Build to sell, and you’ll win either way