EXIT RIGHT

A précis on successfully selling a startup.

Iseri, the founder of health-tech company SwipeSense, and Achler, a founding partner of MATH Venture Partners, focus on helping younger entrepreneurs sell their businesses in this concise and well-organized debut book, which provides readers with a thorough, well-organized plan of action using the “FAIR framework,” which defines and examines the “Fit, Alignment, Integration, and Rationale” at the heart of the relationship between a startup’s founders and its acquirers. Its accessible, highly readable format seems specifically geared to fostering a sense of agency, moving from anecdotes regarding specific, real-life sales to philosophical questions about who to trust in what can be a cutthroat environment. The book is effectively anchored by dual forewords; James Jack, head of UBS Global Wealth Management, praises the authors for their focus on training entrepreneurs to have a long-term, realistic perspective on one of the most important events in their business lives, and entrepreneur and venture capitalist Brad Feld considers the work to be a sort of sequel to his own treatise on funding startups. Together, they provide a sense of gravitas to the work and give impressive credit to its authors for their targeted strategy of finding trustworthy partners, maximizing value, and looking toward future deals. Ultimately, this book provides plenty of useful advice for budding entrepreneurs, with negotiation tips and guides for organizing one’s finances taking center stage. Throughout, Iseri and Achler make clear that achieving the highest returns is their primary goal; in the opening pages they note, “We all know that you’re supposed to focus on your customers and your team and not worry about the exit, but let’s face it: we all do it.” As such, the work may disappoint readers who might be expecting a work that treats customers in a more holistic manner. However, the book does point out that entrepreneurs should be cleareyed about their goals and potential outcomes, which helps to ground the work.

An effective, single-minded primer on maximizing profit when exiting a business.