The FNDRS Playbook · PB20 · Decision

The exit timing window

The right time to sell is a date you work backward from, because buyers read the trailing twelve months. The sale itself runs seven to twelve months from signing to the wire, for a company that is ready: an estimate from past engagements, not a commitment.

Why does the exit date matter so much?

The exit date is the one input everything else is solved for.

Founders think of an exit as an event. Buyers think of it as a snapshot of the trailing twelve months.

That means the decisions that set the price are made well before the sale, early enough to show up in the trailing numbers a buyer sees. Work backward from the date.

A founder with a number in mind and less time than the windows want may still reach it in two steps: a first sale of a majority stake now, with equity rolled into the buyer’s company for a second sale later. The second sale may be worth more or less than the first.

None of this is a reason to wait to talk. The windows say when work shows up in the numbers; the time to start the conversation is now.

Premium exits are not negotiated. They are prepared.
The FNDRS M&A desk

The figure

What has to happen before you sell?

Illustrative

Before a sale, the business moves up the range with a management team, recurring revenue, customer diversification, and systems; cleans up its books, licenses, leases, and add-backs; and is positioned through the Go-To-Market Analysis (GTMA).

Window	Before close	What has to happen
The build window	Earliest, since this work takes longest to show in the numbers	Move up the range: a management team, recurring revenue, customer diversification, systems. Combinations and add-ons.
The clean-up window	Before the trailing twelve months a buyer reads	Accrual books; reviewed statements; licenses and leases transferable; add-backs documented; personal expenses out.
The positioning window	Before the engagement is signed	The Go-To-Market Analysis (GTMA); decide the category and the story; fix or frame the diligence flags.
The process window	Seven to twelve months, from signing to the wire	The sale, in four phases: prepare, market, select, close. For a company that is ready: an estimate from past engagements, not a commitment.
The hold-still window	Diligence and close	Run the business normally. No surprises: no big hires, no big customers lost, no experiments.

Tax and holding-period dates, such as those for Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS), are fixed anchors. Everything else is scheduled around them.

How to read it

A timeline counting back from the closing date in five windows. Each window names the work that has to be finished by then to show up in the numbers a buyer will see.