This opening episode introduces the Exit Advisory Team and their “joined-up” approach to helping founders plan, prepare, and execute a successful exit—ideally years before a transaction is on the table.
Neale Lewis (Scaling Up + Strategic Exit Coach)
Debra Martin – Corporate lawyer (30+ years, heads corporate team at Geldards)
Adam Rhodes – Wealth manager (25 years; focused on pre-sale and post-sale planning for entrepreneurs)
Core message:
Most owners go into an exit under-prepared, emotionally attached, and outgunned by sophisticated buyers.
The team’s differentiator is a collaborative, trusted “dream team” (coach + lawyer + wealth manager, alongside the incumbent accountant and potentially M&A expertise) that works together early to increase value, reduce risk, and lower stress, while protecting both money and legacy.
What is the purpose of the Exit Advisory Team ?
Key takeaways (the “entrepreneur lens”)
Exit is not an event; it’s a build.
Waiting until “next year” is a classic trap. Their best-practice view: start 3+ years out, ideally even earlier, to raise valuation, reduce owner dependency, and de-risk due diligence.
Your regular advisors may not be “exit-grade.”
They call out the difference between advisors who helped you start/grow vs. specialists who can navigate a high-stakes sale process. “No time for amateur” when buyers are professional negotiators.
A joined-up advisory team beats siloed professionals.
Biggest advantage: collaboration and continuity. When advisors don’t talk, things “fall between the cracks,” creating avoidable risk, delays, and value leakage.
Start with the end in mind: know your “Magic Number.”
Adam’s “magic number modeling” (cashflow/lifestyle modeling) helps you quantify:
Owners underestimate the emotional + psychological game.
Exiting is technical and emotional. Buyers and intermediaries will “sell you the future,” and there are negotiation dynamics you don’t learn on Google.
Unsolicited offers are often value traps.
Many owners would accept a “reasonable offer” without advice—risking millions left on the table and/or sharing confidential info with “fishing expedition” buyers.
Preparation protects price (and prevents retrades).
Expect the “survey on an old house” effect: buyers will find issues and push price down. Being prepared (commercially, legally, operationally) reduces price chips and deal fatigue.
Don’t take your eye off the business during a sale process.
Deals drag. If you stop selling, servicing clients, or leading well, performance dips—then either:
