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In M&A circles, there is a well-known concept called the Rembrandt in the Attic. It refers to a situation where an acquirer discovers an asset or capability inside a target company that the seller either undervalued, underutilized, or did not realize was there. Just like the classic trope of a homeowner finding a priceless masterpiece…
Gavin Bell had achieved the freelancer dream. He was known as “the Facebook ads guy” in Edinburgh, pulling in £30k/month with almost no overhead. It was incredibly lucrative. It was also a trap. While rewarding, his business was completely unsellable. His customers weren’t buying an agency—they were buying Gavin. The wake-up call came when his…
On paper, MotiveBase looked like a sellable business. It served blue-chip customers like McDonald’s, Target, and General Mills. It generated millions in revenue. Margins were strong. Yet when founder Ujwal Arkalgud first tested the market, acquirers hesitated. Not because the business wasn’t attractive. But because it was too dependent on the people who built it.…
These days, building and curating a personal brand online is often portrayed as a key to success. Entrepreneurs are told to put themselves at the forefront, to be the face of their business, and to leverage social media to grow both their influence and their company. However, the team at Value Builder sees things differently.…
Most owners assume growth is the goal. More customers. More revenue. More staff.And they’re right. Buyers do reward growth. But they pay a premium for companies that grow while keeping a positive cash flow cycle. More than 80,000 business owners have completed their Value Builder Score Report, offering a window into how they think about…
When an acquirer evaluates your business, they’re looking beyond what you’ve built. As successful as your company may be, buyers need to see how much larger it can grow to generate a return on their investment. That’s where Total Addressable Market (TAM) comes in. TAM is the total revenue opportunity available if you captured 100%…
Most business owners assume that bigger is better. More products. More customers. More markets. Adam Rossi took the opposite approach. By going narrower and serving just one group of customers with one set of critical problems, he outperformed billion-dollar competitors like Lockheed Martin. It wasn’t because he had more resources or a better-known brand. He…
If you sell something the market sees as interchangeable, your business may be worth less. Acquirers often argue that without a competitive moat, commoditized companies are sitting ducks for a price war. Margins get squeezed. Valuations drop. After completing the Value Builder Score Report, more than 80,000 owners have received an estimate of their company’s…
Some leaders take pride in leading from the front. They’re in the trenches with their team. They never delegate a task they wouldn’t do themselves. It earns respect, builds morale, and inspires loyalty. But it can also destroy the value of their business. According to data from The Value Builder System™, companies where the owner…