How We Work Together
CHICAGO • Industry experience in Oil & Gas, Mining, Telecommunications, Aerospace and Defense.
Are We a Good Fit?
Making a business Exit Ready requires a partnership with business owners and their teams.
For an owner, deciding to “Keep and Scale” or “Sell and Exit” is probably the most important decision they will make.
Here’s how we work together to make your business Exit Ready.
The Path to Exit Readiness
STAGE 1
Compatibility Check Stage
Informal introduction with business owner and trusted advisor to assess compatibility, owner needs and business situation. The purpose is to decide if we can work together. Meeting usually held over lunch.
STAGE 2
Free Assessment Stage
Arrow Up Staging conducts a 45-minute assessment where the business owner scores the state of the business on various dimensions of Exit Readiness. No documents or financial information required. Business owner receives a free no-obligation report with recommendations based on the answers.
STAGE 3
Exploration Stage
Meeting with owners, advisor, and team members to discuss the assessment and explore a plan of going forward. Arrow Up shares a presentation on process, timing, and approach. At the end of the discussion, a decision is made to continue or not continue further conversations.
STAGE 4
Proposal Stage
We provide a Statement of Work along with a Master Services Agreement. The SOW describes at a high level the work for the next several months to make the business Exit Ready. Working with existing teams, supplemented with specialty resources, and a proprietary process, we enter into an agreement. Agreement can be cancelled at any time with sufficient notice, by either party.
STAGE 5
Strategy & Alignment Stage
Arrow Up Staging requests and receives data for analysis along with interviews of key stakeholders. Our analysis will inform how the future months will be managed. Based on the data received we update the Exit Readiness Assessment to calibrate any discrepancies. Strategy and Alignment stage usually require 60-90 days to complete.
STAGE 6
Implementation Stage
Exit Ready Roadmap prepared, teams formed, initiatives are fine tuned, business cases created to justify any investments with a 12 month payback period, KPI's established, and all team members are held accountable. Weekly core team meetings are held to track progress against the roadmap. Project management software employed for full visibility. Roadmaps usually require 12-18 months to implement.
STAGE 7
Decision Stage
Once a business is Exit Ready, the owner has attractive options for the future. Should the business owner "keep and scale" or "sell and exit" the business? Either way the business owner wins. Arrow Up Staging provides analysis of both scenarios.
STAGE 8A
Keep and Scale Stage
Once a business is Exit Ready and a decision is made to "Keep and Scale", things get really exciting. Employees are empowered, a new energy has come over the business. The opportunity to bring in additional financing or minority investors provides liquidity for the owner and working capital to go to the next inflection point. Building on the skills learned in the Implementation Stage 6, the team is prepared to drive meaningful growth.
STAGE 8B
Sell and Exit Stage
Once a business is Exit Ready and a decision is made to "Sell and Exit", the business is in great shape for due diligence and a transaction. Arrow Up Staging can recommend and assemble a great deal team - M&A Attorney, Investment Banker, Tax Advisor, M&A CPA firm and more. We can create professional pitch materials to facilitate the sale process. Since a business sale occupies most of the owner's time, Arrow Up Staging can help maintain earnings during the sale process.
Exit Ready Is a Clear Win for Business Owners
Scale or Exit?
When a business is Exit Ready, owners can confidently be in a position to either “Keep and Scale” or “Sell and Exit” at their discretion and have a great outcome.
Either way, the business owner wins.
