How I Sold My Company
"In negotiating, you can always go down, but you can't go up." — Taylor CourtnayIn this episode of the Power Exit Podcast, John Marsh sits down with Taylor Courtnay, co-founder of Decision First Technologies, a data and analytics consulting firm in the SAP ecosystem, to walk through a real founder exit from the seller's side. Taylor shares how he and his business partner grew the company organically from two people in August 2001 to over 100 employees, then sold to Protiviti, a roughly $1 billion consulting firm owned by Robert Half, at the end of 2015.While deals in their space typically looked like a 51% buyout with a 3-4 year earnout from a $100-200M consulting firm, Taylor's deal came in as 80% cash and 20% Robert Half stock vesting over four years, with both Taylor and his partner brought on as Managing Directors at Protiviti. Taylor stayed on until August 2023.You'll learn:🔹 Power exit definition: Why a successful exit is more than the number (is the deal right, is it good for your people and clients, and is the timing right)🔹 Brand vs. EBITDA: How being a 7-time SAP Partner of the Year, with consultants on the conference circuit and books on SAP Press, gave Taylor the leverage to push above standard EBITDA multiples🔹 Running a process: Taking 7-10 inbound calls from qualified suitors in acquisitive years, going to the dance with five to seven others, and why never putting a "for sale sign in the yard" still worked🔹 Advisor value: Why trying to sell without a banker failed four or five times, what their advisor Jimmy actually did (structured the deal, ran interference with the buyer's M&A team), and why Taylor had zero regrets paying the fee at closing🔹 Operational readiness: How having clean, instantly accessible business data made due diligence less stressful, reduced the risk of a retrade, and made post-close integration smoother🔹 Team depth: Building a flat, talent-first culture where investing in people through conference speaking and published work built brand equity that showed up at the closing table🔹 Retention post-close: How Protiviti structured 12-month retention bonuses for about a dozen key people, five or six of whom are now Managing Directors and Partners there🔹 90-day prep: Get your house in order, remove surplus cash from the books before revealing financials (buyers will treat it as part of the deal), and bring in an advisor earlyConnect With JohnLinkedIn - / marshcreek [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWhuRHNTajFMcWRzbkp6SXgtbWtRUERmLWsyZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttTExHYjJNaDVPUDNNdExMZ1dCNk9XZWNwcm9Zd3lpRm9ob0tIRkVxZG9MNUo4amhXelVzUTNMQjRmY1NYRmFTRzNmZ1lNaHJQRUlhZXg3LUIyOEVPVXMzMFR1eU5JeDhrSDFUeEtyQ05XaW8xWWNOMA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fmarshcreek%2F&v=to7K7OYA_w4]Connect With TaylorLinkedIn - / taylor-courtnay [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1RkY0NFbzJWUHRtTTRkTHljalhFc0M5VVhRd3xBQ3Jtc0trbGxtdmVzdjBRSjBDMDUzSjZvQmQzUEp2LTBqRHdmb0wzRjhiZUlXVm40WVRNbVA2MnlCeHpmWHAzV21ValdsMEdwcWhLc29oVk83b1k5dVgwQWdiZENfVk9nc3J2ZFZFbDI1S2FsN2VDVF9XdjdVaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Ftaylor-courtnay%2F&v=to7K7OYA_w4]🔸 Get a Complimentary Business Valuation:https://www.mcreek.com/what-is-my-bus... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWx5a3hfelEyZmRUeGItVUZ2akVpMXBVTmZfUXxBQ3Jtc0tsQmc4WDAzOThqanZlY1ZXNFN5eUNWU1ZfNkVLRGdDSkVUY0JBYVRQOW80RjVUNEU2R09nckdULXd6dkc2WjlaV3cxR0xiZUpZXzFLOV9qMHVxajlDN3l0emVYNkxGNkRuOXVLZzVCYk9Ic3Bnak40aw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcreek.com%2Fwhat-is-my-business-worth%2F&v=to7K7OYA_w4]📌 Subscribe To The PowerExit™ Insights Newsletter:https://www.mcreek.com/newsletter/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbGVVUERGcVl3T0dqYVlGRUF6QXctWlBHYmc2d3xBQ3Jtc0tuYmNZbEs3WERWV01tU3RENlppd2pBWF8tbnlOMGwxQ1poN3oxQ2xhOVpuTkQ3S0UzZmVVa2g1a1MzZDUyTklEVnctLV90MGpMZThUV2VObUNCSTZ1Z1RPTExyWGRGeWkzY3Q5RDBGYWRaLWNKVE9fZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcreek.com%2Fnewsletter%2F&v=to7K7OYA_w4]🌐 More resources ➝ https://www.mcreek.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbngwb0NOaUNoU1F2Qll5REZrN3lmbzc4VWhQQXxBQ3Jtc0tsR2t6Rk1jMXBVSFVPY3g3cXFvUk5zaGZzb0h1dHZkQ0JqanJaMWdfZ3ZkeEt4X3I2Z0FIU08yczRhN1VoS0p5NWxacHJoSGt5OS1DMmZqZnROMURLaVNsbFIzN0toRXNIYXJBYzlYTzl2UXFFcEhvVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcreek.com%2F&v=to7K7OYA_w4]About John Marsh:John Marsh is the Founder and Managing Partner of Marsh Creek Advisors, a boutique M&A advisory firm that helps business owners navigate the sale of their companies with confidence and clarity. Since founding the firm, John has closed hundreds of millions in transactions and earned national recognition as Top Global Producer by the International Business Brokers Association and part of the Firm of the Year by M&A Source — the highest honors in the industry.Before launching Marsh Creek, John served as CFO and later General Manager of a high-growth medical device company, where he led over $300 million in M&A activity, including a $161 million sale to private equity. Earlier in his career, he worked at Ernst & Young and Frazier & Deeter, where he focused on financial reporting and audit services for both Fortune 100 companies and privately held businesses. John holds a BA from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Kennesaw State University. He lives in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with his wife and two daughters.#businessexit [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/businessexit] #exitplanning [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/exitplanning] #PowerExitPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/powerexitpodcast] #sellyourbusiness [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/sellyourbusiness] #mergersandacquisitions [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/mergersandacquisitions] #duediligence [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/duediligence] #entrepreneurship [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/entrepreneurship] #businessgrowth [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/businessgrowth] #exitstrategy [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/exitstrategy] #sapconsulting [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/sapconsulting] #dataanalytics [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/dataanalytics]
