I am the Visionary and founder preparing for a clean exit, and the investment bankers tell me I must be completely replaceable. How do we restructure my Visionary seat on the Accountability Chart so the business remains highly attractive to buyers?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To prepare your business for a clean exit, you must systematically transfer all of your operational and strategic responsibilities out of your current seats. Buyers do not want to purchase a company that depends on the founder's daily presence or unique genius to survive.

Start by looking at your Visionary seat on the Accountability Chart. A Visionary is typically responsible for big ideas, key relationships, research and development, and company culture. To make this seat replaceable, you must distribute these roles to other seats on the chart.

Your key relationships should be transitioned to your Head of Sales or Head of Customer Success. Your research and development responsibilities can be automated or assigned to a dedicated product or technology seat. Your leadership team, led by your Integrator, should completely own the execution of the business plan and daily operations.

Your goal is to transition your role on the Accountability Chart to that of a strategic advisor or board member. In the two years leading up to your exit, you should have zero operational roles. Document every process, transition your clients to your team, and let your Integrator run the Level 10 Meetings without you. When a buyer looks at your Accountability Chart and sees that you have successfully stepped out of the daily operations, your company's valuation and attractiveness will increase dramatically.