This week on The Exit: John duHadway has spent decades advising startups and growth-stage companies, guiding them to the next level and eventual exits. As someone who has exited three companies himself, he shares a few truths that he believes are crucial in getting companies successfully acquired. He emphasizes the importance of business owners surrounding themselves with strong advisors, particularly those who have experience in bringing companies through the same journey. He also discusses being transparent with the team throughout the process, giving them ownership in the company’s future, and making sure they are supported during the transition to new ownership. While he believes it’s important to keep the exit in mind as part of building a company, it should not be the primary focus. The north star for business owners should, instead, be to build value, and an exit should be something that comes about as a result of achieving that primary objective. For more details and insights from his entrepreneurial journey, listen to the full episode of The Exit. John duHadway spent 35 years working for world-class organizations such as Deloitte, First Franklin Financial Corporation and Ownit Mortgage Solutions before founding and launching duHadway, LLC to provide consultative services to early stage and small businesses. duHadway, provides fractional C-Suite (CEO, COO and CFO) services and consultative services to coach leaders and organizations on how to unlock their highest level of performance and to bring their organizations to the next level. John has successfully sold and exited three companies with valuations as high as $2.5 billion. As a consultant, his firm works with and collaborates with the top accounting, legal and private equity firms bringing their mutual clients to the next level. LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnduhadway/ duHadway LLC Website - https://www.duhadwayllc.com/ X (Twitter) - https://twitter.com/duhadway -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/