<description>&lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "TextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" lang="EN-CA" xml:lang="EN-CA" data-contrast="auto"&gt;&lt;span class="NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"&gt;If &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;you're&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt; feeling a little queasy about the pace of change, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"&gt;you're&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt; not alone. AI is accelerating competition in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"&gt;almost every&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt; market, and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;it's&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt; making some business models feel irrelevant &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;almost overnight&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="EOP SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":true,"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":240}"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "TextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" lang="EN-CA" xml:lang="EN-CA" data-contrast="auto"&gt;&lt;span class="NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"&gt;In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, John &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"&gt;Warrillow&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt; talks with Ryan O'Leary, who saw a similar wave coming in payments when Shopify started bundling merchant processing into its plans. O'Leary chose to sell before the shift crushed margins, structuring a deal that put most of his cash in hand up front. In this episode, you discover how to&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="EOP SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":true,"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":240}"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;• Decide whether to raise capital, hire a CEO, roll equity, or sell&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;• Spot the early signals that a platform is about to "bundle" you into irrelevance&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;• Run a tight sale process with a short target list and still generate multiple LOIs fast&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;• Negotiate for deal structure that protects you, not just a higher multiple&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;• Limit earnout risk by keeping the earnout short and the rules hard to game&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;• Separate emotion from the numbers so you can negotiate clean&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br class= "SCXW46022698 BCX0" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;• Keep your team aligned through the transition by sharing upside, including the earnout&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class= "EOP SCXW46022698 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":true,"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":240}"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt;</description>

Built to Sell Radio

John Warrillow

Ep 525 How to Know When to Get Out: What to do when Shopify threatens, Selling vs. hiring a CEO. A controlled process instead of massive auction and getting your cash up front.

DEC 19, 202526 MIN
Built to Sell Radio

Ep 525 How to Know When to Get Out: What to do when Shopify threatens, Selling vs. hiring a CEO. A controlled process instead of massive auction and getting your cash up front.

DEC 19, 202526 MIN

Description

If you're feeling a little queasy about the pace of change, you're not alone. AI is accelerating competition in almost every market, and it's making some business models feel irrelevant almost overnight. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, John Warrillow talks with Ryan O'Leary, who saw a similar wave coming in payments when Shopify started bundling merchant processing into its plans. O'Leary chose to sell before the shift crushed margins, structuring a deal that put most of his cash in hand up front. In this episode, you discover how to • Decide whether to raise capital, hire a CEO, roll equity, or sell • Spot the early signals that a platform is about to "bundle" you into irrelevance • Run a tight sale process with a short target list and still generate multiple LOIs fast • Negotiate for deal structure that protects you, not just a higher multiple • Limit earnout risk by keeping the earnout short and the rules hard to game • Separate emotion from the numbers so you can negotiate clean • Keep your team aligned through the transition by sharing upside, including the earnout