Agency exit & scaling — The agency you sell is built years before the sale.
Most agency founders go to market unprepared and find out what their business is worth the hard way. We work with founders one to two years out, on the growth, margins and independence that set the price, and then help you through the sale itself.
- 20+ years operating
- Built and exited a 7-figure agency
- Exit via Employee Ownership Trust
- B Corp founder
Sound familiar?
- You're a year or two from wanting out, and you'd rather plan ahead than scramble.
- You've had an approach and have no idea if the number on the table is a good one.
- Growth has stalled and you can't tell whether to invest or sell.
- The agency doesn't run for long without you.
- One or two clients make up more of your revenue than you'd like to admit.
- You want your team to benefit from the sale, and want to understand employee ownership before deciding either way.
What the work covers
Exit readiness
Buyers pay less for risk, and most of what makes an agency risky can be fixed with time. Too much revenue from one client, weak contracts, processes that live in people's heads, a founder at the centre of every relationship. We go through your business the way a buyer would, a year or two before it matters, and tell you straight what's holding the price down and what it would take to move it.
Growth that raises the multiple
Growing revenue and growing value aren't the same thing. Retained work is worth more than project work, a specialism is worth more than a general offer, and margin is worth more than headcount. We work on your pricing, positioning and service mix so the growth you add before the sale shows up in the valuation. Otherwise you just end up with a bigger agency that's no easier to sell.
A business that runs without you
The biggest discount on any agency's price is the founder. If every relationship, pitch and quality check runs through you, a buyer is buying a job, not a company. This is the slowest part of the work, which is why it starts early. You need a leadership team that makes decisions without you, delivery that holds up when you're not there, and management accounts that stand up to due diligence.
From first chat to working together
A conversation
45 minutes on your agency, the numbers, and what you want to do and roughly when. No deck needed, and no obligation either way.
A realistic valuation
A short piece of work: what your agency could realistically sell for today, how we got there, and the specific things holding the number down. You get it in writing whether or not we carry on.
The work itself
A set number of days a month tackling the gaps we found: growth, margin, leadership, process. Fixed monthly fee, reviewed every quarter, with a plan written so someone else could pick it up.
Through the sale
Getting ready for what a buyer will ask for, being on your side through due diligence, and holding firm when the offer changes late on. We've sold an agency ourselves and know where it gets uncomfortable.
What preparing early changes
Without the right help
- Finding out what your agency is worth when the offer lands.
- A price knocked down for client concentration and founder dependence.
- An earn-out that ties you in for years.
- Growth that makes the agency bigger, but no easier to sell.
With Lode in your corner
- A clear view of what your agency is worth, and why.
- A business that runs without you.
- Revenue a buyer will pay a premium for.
- An exit on your terms, including employee ownership if it's right for you.
Agency exit and scaling: your questions answered
When should I start preparing to sell my agency?
One to two years before you want to be out. Almost everything that affects the price takes that long to change in a way a buyer will believe: how much revenue sits with a few clients, how much of it is recurring, your margin, and a leadership team that works without you. Founders who start six months out aren't preparing, they're tidying up, and it shows in the offer.
What's my agency worth?
It depends far more on the shape of the business than its size. Agencies are usually valued as a multiple of adjusted profit, and that multiple swings a lot depending on how repeatable your revenue is, how spread out your clients are, and how much of the business depends on you. Two agencies with the same revenue can be worth very different amounts. Working out which one you are is the first thing we do.
Do you only work with founders who are selling?
No. Most of this work is worth doing whether you sell or not. An agency with better margins, more retained revenue and a leadership team running the day-to-day is simply a better agency to own. Preparing to sell and building something you'd happily keep are mostly the same job, which is a good reason to start early.
What about an Employee Ownership Trust?
It's a real option, and an underused one. An EOT sells your business to a trust run for the benefit of your employees. It can suit founders who care what happens to their team and want a clearer, less combative process than a trade sale. It's not for everyone: it usually pays out more slowly, and the business needs to be able to fund the purchase. We've been through one ourselves, so we can tell you where it shines and where it's oversold.
Do you take a percentage of the sale?
No. We're not brokers, and we don't earn more if you sell. That matters, because sometimes the right answer is not to. The work is a fixed monthly fee for an agreed scope, and the valuation that usually comes first is priced on its own, so you can stop there if that's all you need.
Tell us where your agency is at.
Your revenue, roughly how it splits, and what you'd like to do and when. That's all we need to get started. We read every message ourselves and usually reply within a couple of working days.
Or email hello@lode.venturesThanks, we've got your message.
We read every message ourselves and usually reply within a couple of working days.