The Exit Question Most Founders Aren’t Expecting
Most founders don’t spend their early years thinking about exits. They’re focused on winning clients, building the team, and making the business work.
But somewhere along the way – often around the £5–10m revenue mark – that changes. The business has real momentum. The value created over years of hard work is tangible. Maybe a potential buyer makes an approach. And for the first time, an exit feels like a genuine option rather than a distant concept.
When that moment arrives, the question founders usually ask themselves is, “Do I sell in full now, or do I keep building?”
But those aren’t the only two options.
Why Concentration Risk Starts to Matter
Whether you’ve built a software platform, a specialist services firm, or a media business, the journey to this point often looks similar. Years of reinvesting in growth – hiring, developing your proposition, and expanding your client base – usually at the expense of your own below-market salary and any dividends.
As a result, a large proportion of personal wealth ends up tied up in what’s been built. At some point, it is natural for that to start to feel imbalanced, with too many eggs in one basket. That creates some anxiety and caution, which hinders the successful scaling of the business and causes hesitation about making the right bold moves.
Taking Money Off the Table Without Stepping Away
A partial exit lets founders derisk and realise some of the value they’ve created while continuing to participate in the next stage of growth. And it can allow retired co-founders and angel investors to exit fully.
For many, this creates a really positive shift. Personal financial pressure is reduced, long-term, bold decisions become easier, and the focus can return to building the business rather than managing personal risk.
And in our experience, there is a second part to this transition– what happens to the founder’s role.
At this stage, founders are typically doing everything: leading the business, driving revenue, shaping the proposition, and managing the team. That breadth is often necessary early on, but it isn’t sustainable as the company grows.
From Wearing Every Hat to the Right Hat
Not every founder wants the same role as the business scales. Some want to continue running the business and build the right team around them. Others want to focus on client relationships and growth, some on product and innovation, while others want to gradually transition into a non-executive role.
A partial exit and bringing in the right new partner is the perfect time to set the right path for the founder and the leadership team. Bringing in new roles into the top team, fewer hats for the founder, and clear responsibilities for all.
Choosing the Right Path
Some founders sell in full, and that can absolutely be the right call. But many find that de-risking while continuing to build for a much bigger exit in the future is the more attractive option – securing the value they’ve created, focusing on what they enjoy most, and scaling with an experienced partner alongside them.
The best exit isn’t always about stepping away. Sometimes it’s about building the right platform for the next chapter and a much bigger exit in the years to come.