Start Fixing What Happens After You Sell Now

“How many companies come to you ready to sell?”
I asked this exact question of a sell-side broker last week.

His answer?
“Zero.”

Not because the products aren’t good.
Not because the founders aren’t talented.
But because the fundamentals aren’t in place.

He said he has four pillars he evaluates before taking a company to market:

• 🤝 Culture

• ⚙️ Operations

• 💙 Customer Focus

• 💵 Financials

That list overlaps almost exactly with my framework for guiding early-stage companies to grow predictably and profitably.

But here's the kicker. This broker has to fix these things before he can market the business. Because buyers aren’t just buying today’s numbers.

They’re buying tomorrow’s predictability.

• ❓Will customers stay?

• ❓Will revenue grow without the founder pushing?

• ❓Will the team deliver more without heroic effort?

Then, I had an eerily similar conversation with a CEO this week. This CEO, who is preparing for sale, told me:
“I wish I’d understood the impact of customer experience on CAC and LTV years ago. I’d be in a much stronger position right now.”

He’s not alone.
Most post-sale issues don’t show up in your current dashboard, until there’s a dumpster fire, or until they eventually hit your valuation. 🔥
But by then, the cost of fixing them is steep. And the window to do it is closing.

• 💔 Escalating surprise churn.

• ❌ Missed expansion opportunities.

• 📉 Pressure on an already bloated CAC from leaky buckets.

Customer experience isn’t a soft function, or a “nice to have.”
It’s an early warning system, a margin enhancer, and a valuation driver.

If you want a clean, high-value exit later, start fixing what happens after the sale now.

👉 That’s where your long-term value (and risk) really live.