The moment most owners only do once
Selling the business you built is the most consequential financial decision most owners will ever make. It's also a decision they've never made before — while the buyers across the table from them are doing this every month.
That asymmetry is where deals go sideways. Owners accept the first credible offer. They volunteer information that should have been negotiated. They sign letters of intent with exclusivity clauses that hand all the leverage to the buyer. They negotiate deal structure when they don't know what's standard. The result: a closed deal at 60–70% of what the same business should have sold for.
The fix is having someone in your corner who has done this many times and is paid hourly to give you their honest read, not commissioned to push a closing.
How the process actually works
- Readiness assessment — honest evaluation of whether your business is sale-ready today, and what specific gaps (clean financials, customer concentration, key-person risk, lease assignability) need attention first. Some owners are 30 days from market-ready; others need 12 months.
- Valuation and exit positioning — defensible enterprise value range, positioning narrative that maximizes strategic vs. financial buyer interest, and a target buyer list.
- Confidential information memorandum — the "book" sent to qualified buyers. Tells your story credibly without disclosing the identity of the business until an NDA is in place.
- Buyer outreach and qualification — discreet outreach to a curated list of strategic acquirers, family offices, and search funds. NDA execution before any disclosure. Verified proof of funds before serious engagement.
- Indication of interest and letter of intent — competitive process when possible to drive price and improve terms; structured negotiation of LOI to avoid common owner-disadvantage clauses (exclusivity periods, no-shop, walk-away rights).
- Due diligence management — coordinating financial, legal, and operational diligence through the encrypted Northbridge document portal. Protecting the operating business throughout.
- Definitive agreement and close — working with your transaction counsel through purchase agreement negotiation, working capital true-up, escrow arrangements, and funding.
Confidentiality is the whole game
Word that a business is for sale destroys it — employees leave, customers question, competitors poach. Every aspect of our sell-side process is built around protecting that information until a definitive deal is in place. Coded teasers, NDAs before any business detail is shared, controlled document access through the secure portal, and a target buyer list curated for actual fit rather than volume blast.
Engagement terms
Hourly at $150 against a $1,500 booking retainer (10 hours). Most sell-side engagements run 80–150 billable hours across the 6–9 month window from kickoff to close — substantially less than the 8–10% transaction commissions charged by traditional sell-side brokers for the same work. You see exactly how time is spent in a weekly itemized log.