Comments on: You Need an Exit Strategy Before You Even Start

By: Krystal

Krystal — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:35:50 +0000

I have a question. I know what an exit strategy is, but i am uncertain how it should read. I have a 41 page business plan and i need to write up my exit strategy. i know my preference in exits, and options. but when an investor (angel or VC is the most likely buyer) reads the exit strategy, what should it say, how long should it be etc. I cant find any examples of a solidly written plan. Is it as simple as a 1 paragraph “XYZ’s (company) has a 5 year IPO exit strategy. by year 5 the owner (name here) plans to take XYZ public. (owner name) plans to keep most of his/her equity as possible, and at retirement age, sell his/her share to the public as well. in the event of his/her untimely death, his/her shares will be passed down to his/her next of kin.” then from there do i go on to talk about the “4 d’s”.

i guess i am simply looking for a real example of a solid exit strategy that was used, so i can figure out how to word it.

Thanks so much!!!!

By: Regan Degrass

Regan Degrass — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 09:21:37 +0000

This one makes sence “One’s first step in wisdom is to kuesstion everything – and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.”

By: Ben Yoskovitz

Ben Yoskovitz — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:34:59 +0000

Aleish – there’s no question that all your plans won’t materialize – that’s life really, but I do like the idea of having several strategies for exiting and moving forward and adjusting as you evolve the business.

Thanks for the comment!

By: Aleish

Aleish — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:28:08 +0000

Great post! Yes, there should always be an alternative plan because Not every plan will materialize.

By: Highlights of 2006 » Ready Fire Aim

Highlights of 2006 » Ready Fire Aim — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 02:11:33 +0000

[...] 4.) Featured on startupspark.com – Benjamin Yoskovitz listed Ready Fire Aim on startupspark.com as one of the best entrepreneurship blogs, and my post on Exit Strategies was mentioned in his article “You Need an Exit Strategy Before you Even Start”. [...]

By: Ben Yoskovitz

Ben Yoskovitz — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 02:43:06 +0000

Ha! Ted…your comment made me laugh — survival strategies vs. exit strategies.

My take on that would be – survival is all fine and good, it might pay the bills, but does it get you anywhere? “Fight for another day?” Till you blink, it’s been 10 years and you’re still just surviving.

Sometimes you have to dream big, glorious exits to realize it’s time to walk away from survival mode.

By: startupspark.com - Carnival of Entrepreneurs #5 - An Uber-Load of Entrepreneurial Fun

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:50:20 +0000

[...] David Maister has excellent advice on what to do when you pass your company on to others. I recently talked about exit strategies and succession planning, so David’s post fits in beautifully. [...]

By: Ted Demopoulos

Ted Demopoulos — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 18:07:05 +0000

Exit strategy or at least “written down ideas” are good, BUT I’ve seen too many startups waste endless time on exit strategies when they should have concentrated on “survival strategies”

By: MasterMaq's Blog

MasterMaq's Blog — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 00:33:23 +0000

An Exit Strategy is a Good Thing!…

As I mentioned in a previous post, I learned a lot in 2006. One of the things I learned is that having……

By: Ben Yoskovitz

Ben Yoskovitz — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:07:08 +0000

Thanks Scot – that’s a great example of developing an exit strategy!