EXIT INCUBATION™

Selling someday? Build the value first.

Buyers pay for a business that runs without its owner. Most don't. Exit Incubation™ puts the systems in while you still own the business, so the profit is up, the owner dependency is down, and when the buyer's team comes to look, everything is already written down. It runs inside whichever program fits your business.

2-7 years out. The right time to start.

Not a broker. Not a valuation. The value itself.

Runs inside every GroundedPath program

Starts with the same $9,500 Diagnostic, with an exit lens

Built by a team that has sold a companies they have built

Advisors: CPAs, brokers, exit planners, refer a client

Sound familiar?

The business is you. To a buyer, that's a discount.

"The buyer loved the numbers. Then he asked what happens if I take a month off."

What the buyer saw: every decision, every big customer, every fix runs through the owner. That's a discount, not a premium.

"My CPA said clean up the books two years before you sell. Nobody said what to do about the rest of it."

What the buyer saw: clean financials, and a company nobody could explain without you in the room.

"They asked for our processes. We sent them a Dropbox folder and three people's heads."

What the buyer saw: no record of how the work gets done. Diligence slowed, the price moved, the deal got tired.

What buyers pay for

Six things that move the price. We build all six.

A buyer isn't paying for last year. They're paying for the next five, without you. These are the six things they look at, and what each one looks like when the system is in.

Owner dependency
The business runs without you
Today Every call, quote, and fire drill lands on you. At sale The jobs that ran through you run through systems and a team. You take the month off.
Customers
Revenue that stays
Today Customers stay because they know you. At sale Every customer on one record, watched after the sale. Risk spotted before the surprise.
Follow-up
A pipeline that fills itself
Today Leads come from your network and your phone. At sale Signals, follow-up, and ads run as a system. New revenue the buyer can see coming.
Records
Proof of how the work gets done
Today Processes live in people's heads. At sale A record of every job, call, and action. Diligence is a walk-through, not a dig.
Numbers
Profit you can show
Today Margins are good, you think. At sale One number per system, every month, for years. EBITDA with a history, not a story.
Team
People who stay
Today Key people might leave when you do. At sale Rules and systems in the tools, not in one person. The team runs it with or without you.
Talk to us about a sale Not selling? The same six things make a business easier to own. Start anyway.
What this is, and isn't

Not a broker. Not a valuation. The value itself.

  • × A broker who lists the business and finds the buyer. You'll still need one. We work next to them.
  • × A valuation or exit plan on paper. Your CPA and exit planner do that. We build what the plan says needs building.
  • × A quick clean-up six months before you list. Value takes years to build and minutes for a buyer to spot.
  • ✓ The systems that make the business run without you, put in while you still own it.
  • ✓ A record of every job, customer, and number, kept for years, so diligence is a walk-through.
  • ✓ Inside your program. Healthcare, home services, a portfolio company, a software company. Same first step.
A fleet lined up at dawn: a business that runs as an asset, not a person
How it works

Look. Build. Run. Then sell.

Same three steps as every GroundedPath program, with one difference: we look at every job through the buyer's eyes.

Step 1 · Look
Diagnostic, exit lens
$9,500 · two weeks

We map where the business depends on you, where the revenue is fragile, and where there's no record. You get one page: the six things above, scored, with the first job to fix and what it costs.

You give us: two hours, access to your tools, and your honest timeline.
Step 2 · Build
Build
From $35,000

The first job comes off your plate and onto a system, inside the tools you already use. Then the next. Each one is one less reason for a buyer to discount.

You give us: one person on your team who will own it after you're gone.
Step 3 · Run
Keep it running
From $5,000 a month

Someone owns the numbers every month, for years. That history is the asset. When the buyer asks for proof, you hand them the record.

This is the step most owners skip and most buyers price.
Talk to us about a sale Two years out is good. Five is better. Six months is a clean-up, and we'll tell you so.
What you walk away with

Four things. All of them yours.

1
The system

Built in your tools, in your account. You own it. If we leave, it stays.

2
The number

One number, every month, that shows the job is getting done. Not a dashboard full of charts.

3
The rules

Written down and set in the tools. What it does alone. What a person approves. What it never does.

4
The record

Every call, text, and action it took, in one place you can read. Nothing happens you can't see.

The timeline

Start when the sale is still a someday.

Buyers pay for a track record. A track record takes time. The owners who get the best price started building value years before they listed.

1
Year one

The Diagnostic, then the first job off your plate. Numbers start being kept.

Owner dependency drops
2
Years two to three

The front office runs as a system. Customers watched. Revenue predictable.

Profit with a history
3
Years three to five

You take the month off. The team runs it. The record is years deep.

Buyer-ready
4
The sale

Your broker lists it. Diligence is a walk-through. The price holds.

Or keep it. It's a better business.
For advisors

You sit with the owner. We build the value.

If you're a CPA, a business broker, an M&A advisor, an exit planner, a wealth manager, or an attorney, you tell owners every year to start earlier. We're who they start with. You keep the relationship, the plan, and the transaction. We do the building: the systems, the records, the numbers, inside the owner's business, for the years before the sale. We don't broker, value, or sell businesses, and we send our clients to you for the work you do.

Refer a client → Become a referral partner → See what we've built →

How a referral works: you introduce us, we run the Diagnostic, and you get the one-page result too, so the exit plan and the build plan are the same plan. Your client knows you sent them. We keep you in the loop every quarter.

Questions people ask

The honest answers.

Are you a broker? Will you sell my business?
No. We don't list, market, or sell businesses, and we don't find buyers. You'll want a broker or M&A advisor for that, and we're glad to work next to yours. We build the value they'll be selling.
Will you tell me what my business is worth?
No. Valuation is your CPA's or exit planner's job, and they'll do it better than we would. What we do is move the things that drive the number: owner dependency, recurring revenue, records, and a profit history.
I'm about eighteen months out. Is it too late?
It's late for the full build, but not for the Diagnostic. In two weeks you'll know which one or two things would move the price most, and whether they can be done in time. If the honest answer is “clean up and list,” we'll say so.
Does this replace my CPA or exit planner?
No. It's the part they usually can't do for you. They write the plan; we build what the plan says the business needs. We'd rather work with yours than around them.
What does it cost?
The same as every GroundedPath program, because it runs inside one. The Diagnostic is $9,500 and takes two weeks. Build is a fixed price from $35,000. Keeping it running is from $5,000 a month. No success fee, no piece of the sale.
Do you take a piece of the sale?
No. We're paid for the work, like a contractor who renovates the house before you list it. The upside is yours.
What does an advisor get for referring a client?
A client whose business is worth more when you take it to market, the Diagnostic result in your hands so your plan and our build line up, and our referrals back for the work you do. We don't compete with you for any of it.
Back Next Apply for the Diagnostic

Application received. The right questions are now on the table. We'll reply within one business day with the Diagnostic scope. If it's accepted, you get the systems map, the risk and ownership view, the priority workflow blueprint, and the engineered action plan.

Add your name, practice or group, work email, and group size so we can scope the Diagnostic.

TALK TO US

Tell us when, and who you are.

Thirty minutes. Owners: tell us your timeline and what the business can't do without you. Advisors: tell us about the client. We tell you what we'd look at first, what it would cost, and whether the timeline is realistic. No pitch. If it's a clean-up job, we'll say so.

A person reads every form and replies within one business day. Your information is never sold or shared. Advisors: your client knows you sent them.

Build the business a buyer wants. Then decide whether to sell it.

Talk to us

We reply within one business day. We never share what you tell us.