The Investor-Grade Founder: Unlocking 10X Exits with Nick Bradley скачать в хорошем качестве

The Investor-Grade Founder: Unlocking 10X Exits with Nick Bradley

In this episode, Ken Eslick sits down with "the scale-up guy," Nick Bradley, to pull back the curtain on the world of private equity (PE) and business exits. With a career spanning from starting a personal training business at 18 to serving as a CEO four times under investor backing, Nick shares the "investor-grade" playbooks that help founders stop leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table. They discuss the vital shift from running a lifestyle business to building a wealth-creation asset, the importance of "exiting the operation" before you exit the company, and why the current market is hungrier than ever for profitable, professionalized B2B and home services businesses. Key Takeaways The "Investor-Grade" Mindset: Many founders view their business through a lifestyle or income lens; shifting to a wealth-creation mindset allows you to build a transferable asset rather than just a job. The Power of the Multiple: Increasing profit is only half the battle. Moving from sub-million EBITDA to the $5M range opens a massive marketplace of thousands of PE firms, which significantly drives up the valuation multiple. Exiting the Operation: To achieve a high-value exit, the business must run without the founder. Nick highlights that "owner dependency" is a major risk that devalues a company during an acquisition. Execution Over Strategy: In the PE world, execution is "almost military". Operating in 90-day sprints with clear priorities is what truly drives a step-change in company growth. The "Buy and Build" Strategy: Private equity often buys a "platform" business with strong leadership first, then "bolts on" other companies to create a larger, high-value group. Episode Highlights [00:02:36] Nick’s journey from selling a fitness business for $3,000 to working for Rupert Murdoch and eventually leading 600 redundancies to prep a company for sale. [00:07:38] The "Unapologetic" Truth: Why PE is focused on "value creation"—turning assets into 300% to 500% returns within a 3-to-5-year window. [00:12:44] Transferable Value: How small risks—like key person or customer dependency—can knock 2 to 5 points off your valuation multiple. [00:19:14] The Three Big Mistakes: A lack of wealth-asset awareness, owner dependency/ego, and poor execution discipline. [00:25:36] Scaling Milestones: Why the $1M EBITDA mark is the first major "interest" threshold, but $5M is where the marketplace truly opens up. [00:28:47] The "Boring" Business Boom: Why PE has fallen in love with recurring revenue in "unsexy" industries like HVAC, landscaping, and commercial cleaning. Connect with the Guests Connect with Ken on LinkedIn:   / keneslick   The Leaders Lab by Ken Eslick: https://www.theleaderslab.co/ Connect with Nick on LinkedIn:   / realnickbradley   High Value Exit by Nick Bradley: https://highvalueexit.com/ Ready to Transform Your Leadership? Discover how we help founders and executives unlock clarity and lasting impact: https://ken-2xppm4iy.scoreapp.com/ "Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge." — Simon Sinek