For owners of privately held businesses
Explore your options. Explore who to talk to.
Outside Partners helps business owners think through the future of their company: growth, expansion, valuation, succession, investment or a potential sale. When you need specialist help, we connect you with the right people.
You don’t need to be selling your company to talk to us.
Most owners spend years building a company, and very little time planning its future.
The questions tend to arrive anyway.
- 01
What is my business actually worth?
- 02
Should I sell now, in three years, or not at all?
- 03
Who would buy a company like mine?
- 04
Could I bring in an investor or partner instead?
- 05
What would make the business more valuable?
- 06
How dependent is the company on me?
- 07
How should I prepare before speaking to a broker or buyer?
- 08
Who should I actually talk to?
There’s rarely a neutral first call.
Most obvious first steps come with a direction built in. Outside Partners is the call you make before you know exactly what your next move is. We help you explore your options.
Who do you call first?
- An M&A broker
- Can feel like starting a sales process.
- An investor
- Means speaking to a potential buyer.
- Your accountant
- Answers the financial questions. Not always the strategic or market ones.
- A consultant
- Can become another consulting project.
- Outside Partners
- A conversation first. We start with what you’re trying to achieve, then find the right people.
We start with what you’re trying to achieve.
We don’t need to be the valuation firm, the broker or the law firm. Our job is to open the conversation, structure your question and connect you with the right people.
01
A conversation.
About where you see the business going over the next few years. No pitch, and nothing to decide.
02
Your question, structured.
Worth, options, timing, readiness. We help you work out what you actually want to understand.
03
The right people.
A valuation, tax or legal specialist, an M&A advisor, an investor or a buyer. When you need them, not before.
04
We stay involved.
Plans change. We remain your point of contact as your circumstances evolve.
Where a conversation can lead
Or simply a clearer view of your options. That’s a good outcome too.
- An indicative valuation
- A view of potential buyer interest
- Thinking through succession
- Finding an investor or partner
- Preparing for an exit years from now
- Improving value before going to market
- Exploring an eventual sale
- Speaking with the right M&A advisor
- A specialist lawyer, tax advisor or corporate-finance expert
- Testing acquisition interest without putting the business up for sale
Nobody wakes up one morning ready to sell.
There’s usually a journey. Most advisors join near the end. We can start at the beginning.
Stage 01
Curiosity
“I wonder what this company would actually be worth.”
Outside Partners from here
Stage 02
Exploration
“What are my options if I eventually want to step back?”
Stage 03
Preparation
“What should I change to make the business more valuable and transferable?”
Stage 04
Market orientation
“Who buys companies like mine?”
Stage 05
Professional advice
“Who should I speak to?”
Where M&A firms usually get involved
Stage 06
Transaction readiness
“I may actually be willing to explore a deal.”
Outside Partners can be involved from stage 1. M&A firms usually get involved around stages 5 and 6.
You don’t need to know the whole ecosystem. You can start with us.
Behind every conversation is a network across the private-company world. We introduce you to the right part of it, when it’s useful, and only with your agreement.
Transactions
- M&A advisors and corporate-finance firms
- Strategic buyers
- Search funds and entrepreneurs
Capital
- Private-equity investors
- Family offices
- Financing partners
- Wealth advisors
Expertise
- Accountants and tax specialists
- Lawyers
- Valuation specialists
- Succession and exit-planning specialists
- Operational consultants
06Questions
Do I need to be thinking about selling?
No. You don’t need to be selling your company to talk to us. Some owners are thinking about succession, some about an investor, and some are simply curious about what the business might be worth.
What happens in a first conversation?
We ask where you see the business going over the next few years and what you’d like to understand. There’s no pitch, and nothing to decide.
Are you an M&A broker?
No. We help you understand your options and, when you need specialist help, connect you with the right people: an M&A advisor, an investor, a lawyer, a tax or valuation specialist.
Will you share my details?
Not without your agreement. Nobody is introduced to you, or told about your business, unless you’ve asked us to.
Let’s talk about what comes next.
Tell us a little about your business and what’s on your mind. We’ll reply personally.
You
“I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”
Outside Partners
“That’s fine. Let’s figure out what you’re trying to achieve first.”