Building a Business Buyers Will Pay a Premium For: Bob Verdun’s Exit Playbook (Part 1) | Ep. 150

To celebrate the 150th episode of The M&A Mastermind Podcast, host Nick Olsen welcomes Bob Verdun, CEO of Scaling Up, the global coaching platform built alongside Verne Harnish that guides roughly 4,000 mid-market companies toward scalable growth. Bob founded Computerized Facility Integration (CFI), rebuilt it after losing 80% of its revenue in the 2000 downturn, and eventually sold it to Cantor Fitzgerald’s Newmark Knight Frank division for double his original unsolicited offer. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Bob unpacks the auction process that got him there, why deal terms matter as much as price, and the four core tenets that made his business resilient enough to grow through the Great Recession.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

  • Why Bob walked away from an unsolicited private equity offer — and how a full auction process doubled his final sale price
  • The “core four” business tenets that made CFI resilient enough to grow during the Great Recession while competitors shrank
  • Why cash upfront is safer than an earnout, and what the data says about how often earnouts actually pay out in full
  • How bundling services into multi-year contracts turned a project-based business into a recurring-revenue machine
  • Why strategic buyers can pay dramatically higher multiples than financial buyers — and how to know if you fit that mold
  • The real cost of taking a single unsolicited offer without testing the market first
  • What Scaling Up’s new “Scaling Up Profits” program offers business owners for free
  • A first look at Bob’s upcoming book, Scaling Up Valuation, and why so many owners obsess over EBITDA while ignoring their multiple

About the Guest:

Bob Verdun is CEO of Scaling Up, a global executive coaching platform built alongside Verne Harnish that helps roughly 4,000 mid-market companies pursue scalable, measurable growth. He founded Computerized Facility Integration (CFI) in 1990, grew it into one of Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing private companies, and sold it to Cantor Fitzgerald’s Newmark Knight Frank division in 2015 after a ten-year average annual growth rate of 27%. He is a senior partner at Solyco Capital, a private equity firm, sits on the board of United Wholesale Mortgage chairing its audit and finance committees, and is a two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner. His upcoming book, Scaling Up Valuation, explores 22 ways business owners can influence the multiple buyers are willing to pay for their company. Learn more at scalingup.com.

About the Show:
The M&A Mastermind Podcast provides actionable insights and effective strategies tailored for dealmakers in the lower middle market. Hosted by Nick Olsen, the show features conversations with leading industry experts who share valuable knowledge on topics such as industry intelligence, deal management, collaborative successes, and specialized expertise. Listeners who support small to medium-sized business owners will find practical tactics and advice they can immediately apply to advance their mastery in mergers and acquisitions.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review — it helps more lower middle market dealmakers find the show.

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Related Episodes:
The Games That Buyers Play Feat. Verne Harnish | Ep. 100

In this 100th episode of the M&A Mastermind podcast, host Nick Olsen interviews Verne Harnish, founder and CEO of Scaling Up, discussing the complexities of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Harnish shares insights on the importance of having a skilled M&A advisor, common tactics used by buyers to negotiate lower prices, and the psychological games that can affect sellers.

Whether you’re an M&A advisor helping a client weigh an unsolicited offer or a business owner trying to understand what actually drives your valuation multiple, this milestone 150th episode with Bob Verdun offers a masterclass in auction processes, deal structuring, and building a business strategic buyers will pay a premium for. Stay tuned for Part 2, where Bob dives deeper into his upcoming book, Scaling Up Valuation.

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