Skip to content
human
renaissance
Eighteen blank month cards pinned in a long run with small milestone flags, the final card carrying a terracotta flag in raking sun.

Operating brief

What should a technology company fix 18 months before exit?

A sell-side operating brief for data room readiness, ARR quality, finance hygiene, IP assignment, customer concentration, founder dependency, and technical debt.

Read the brief Request a diagnostic

Plate /110 — eighteen months

— Successful PE exit
92 % hiring accuracy across
— Exit Readiness Scorecard shipped as an operator resource

01 · The operating read

The direct answer, then the read

Fix the areas buyers will diligence: ARR definitions, revenue recognition, IP assignment, customer concentration, contracts, leadership dependency, technical debt, security posture, and delivery repeatability. The purpose is to remove buyer discounts before the banker takes the company to market.

Exit readiness is won before the process. The company needs a buyer-ready operating record, not just a growth story. Every unresolved operating dependency becomes a discount, escrow issue, earnout argument, or diligence delay.

Best fit
Founder-CEOs, CFOs, boards, and sponsors preparing for a sale or capital raise.
Use it when
Use this 12 to 18 months before an exit when the company still has diligence gaps that buyers will price into the multiple.
Window
12 to 18 months before market

02 · The board's questions

What the room asks next

Open a question for the operating answer and the page that carries it.

How do you prepare a technology company for exit?

Clean the areas buyers will diligence: ARR, revenue recognition, IP, contracts, dependency risk, technical debt, security, and delivery repeatability.

Where this goes →
How is transaction advisory different from an investment banker?

Transaction advisory makes the company buyer-ready before the banker manages the market process.

Where this goes →
What belongs in the exit-readiness scorecard?

Finance hygiene, customer concentration, founder dependency, data-room quality, IP assignment, technical debt, security posture, and buyer-objection readiness.

Where this goes →

03 · Operating paths

Where the brief leads

Resource
Exit Readiness Scorecard
Answer
Transaction Advisory vs. Investment Banker
Service
Investment Banking preparation
Article
Exit Readiness topic
Article
18 Month Exit Preparation Timeline Founder Owned Tech
Article
Pe Exit Preparation Timeline 24 Months Close
Article
How To Create Data Room Impresses Pe Buyers

04 · Related briefs

Other situations on file

All briefs
A results printout worked over in red pencil on a boardroom table before dawn, the pencil resting where the last mark ended. № 01
Forecast Accuracy

Missed Quarter Response

First 14 days after the miss

Read the brief
A wall schedule of blank cards re-pinned rightward with old pin holes trailing, the furthest-moved card terracotta. № 02
Post-Merger Integration

Slipping Integration

First 30 days after integration drift is visible

Read the brief
An engineering logbook and a financial ledger open side by side, joined line to line by a single red thread under lamplight. № 03
Technical Debt

Technical Debt to EBITDA

Before budget approval, diligence, or a major roadmap commitment

Read the brief
A panelled door ajar at night spilling warm lamplight across a herringbone floor, the corner of a worked desk visible through the gap.

Start here

When the situation is already live

Turn the brief into owners and board-ready next actions. A 14-day diagnostic. No retainer until we agree on the work.

Request a diagnostic See the case notes