Fig. 01 · Answer
How do you prepare a technology company for exit?
Founder-CEOs, CFOs, boards, and sponsors 6 to 18 months before a sale process.
The short answer
Exit readiness means cleaning the operating areas buyers will diligence: ARR definitions, revenue recognition, IP assignment, customer concentration, contracts, leadership dependency, technical debt, security posture, and delivery repeatability. The goal is to remove discounts before a buyer prices them into the multiple.
What informs this answer
Selected results from related operator-led engagements, by industry and scale:
- Successful PE exit
- Exit Readiness Scorecard shipped as an operator resource
What to ask next
What should be fixed 18 months before exit?
Clean financial definitions, contracts, customer risk, founder dependency, technical debt, security posture, and delivery repeatability before buyers price discounts.
Which checklist turns exit readiness into operating work?
The scorecard converts buyer concerns into owners, remediation sequence, and diligence-ready answers.
Why does IP assignment matter in exit diligence?
IP assignment proves the company owns the assets buyers think they are buying, reducing legal and valuation risk.
Answered by Justin Leader · Human Renaissance · Updated 2026-04-30 · Research methodology
