Selling Your Startup: Crafting the Perfect Exit, Selling Your Business, and Everything Else Entrepreneurs Need to Know

by Alejandro Cremades

Learn how to sell your startup from an acquisition expert Many entrepreneurs dream of the day their company is acquired and they secure a perfect exit. But information about the process of getting your business acquired usually comes from expensive investment bankers who typically advise late-stage startups. In Selling Your Startup , serial entrepreneur Alejandro Cremades delivers an accessible guide on how to sell your startup. With first-hand experience as a fully exited entrepreneur, investment banker, and lawyer, Cremades describes the tips and tricks startup founders need to sell their early-stage to growth-stage business. In this book, you’ll discover: Perfect for entrepreneurs of all kinds, Selling Your Startup is a must-have roadmap to the practical realities of company acquisition and contains proven guidance on crafting your perfect exit.

Genres: Startup, Business

288 pages, Hardcover

Published July 27, 2021

About the author

Alejandro Cremades is the founding partner at Panthera Advisors, which is a premier investment banking and financial consulting firm with offices in New York and California. The firm focuses on small to medium size companies that are looking for M&A advisory as well as support with fundraising efforts.

Alejandro is a serial entrepreneur that most recently cofounded Onevest, one of the largest online communities of entrepreneurs. At the time of its acquisition, Onevest had close to 500,000 entrepreneurs in 234 countries registered on the platform.

Prior to Onevest, Alejandro was an attorney at King & Spalding where he was involved in one of the largest investment arbitration cases in history with $113 billion at stake (Chevron vs. Ecuador).

Alejandro guest lectures at NYU Stern School of Business and The Wharton Business School. Alejandro has been included in the Top 30 Under 30 lists of Vanity Fair, Entrepreneur Magazine, and GQ Magazine. Moreover, TechCrunch featured Alejandro as one of the expats that is shaping New York’s tech.

Alejandro has been involved with the JOBS Act since inception. He was invited to the White House and the US House of Representatives to provide his stands on the new regulatory changes.

Alejandro is a Forbes contributor as well as the author of the bestselling book The Art of Startup Fundraising. The book is published by John Wiley & Sons and includes a foreword by Barbara Corcoran.

Most recently, Alejandro published Selling Your Startup. Also published by John Wiley & Sons, the book includes a foreword by Bhavin Turakhia and it is intended to be a founders guide to getting their company acquired. The book includes testimonials from over 20 entrepreneurs that have sold their company for over $500 million.

Furthermore, Alejandro is the host of the popular DealMakers Podcast, where successful entrepreneurs share how they did it. The podcast is about to hit 2 million downloads and includes interviews with founders such as Valentin Stalff (built N26 to $4B), Kristo Kaarman (built Transferwise to $3B+), Mike Cagney (built SoFi to $4B+ and Figure to $1B+), Marco Zappacosta (built Thumbtack to $2B), Kevin O‘Connor (sold DoubleClick for over $1B), Rick Stollmeyer (sold Mindbody for $1.9B), Reggie Aggarwal (sold Cvent for $1.6B), Mohit Aron (built Nutanix to $7B and Cohesity to $1B), Henry Ward (built Carta to $2B+), Stefan Heck (built Nauto to $1B+), Matt Salzberg (built Blue Apron to $1B+), Henrique Dubugras (built Brex to $2B+), Ajeet Singh (built Thoughtspot to $1B+), and many others.

Reviews

[Rafia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for people selling their business our even for you business majors! This book literally has it all and beats all those how to videos that you have been watching. Easy to read and understand for people who are struggling with their business.

[Anne Haack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough, practical, and emotionally intelligent book containing a complete checklist and framework for thinking through scenarios.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alejandro Cremades’ Selling Your Startup is a straightforward, easy-to-digest reference guide on the steps for selling your startup. He lays out each step of the way and explores every step from all angles. Not only does this book examine the substantive issues regarding selling one’s start up, but it also explores the emotions involved, leaving the reader with a holistic discussion of the process.

Cremades’ writing is clear, concise, and engaging. For newbies, he explains M&A terminology as it arises, as well as providing a glossary of M&A terminology for quick reference.

I also appreciate that the table of contents provides an excellent outline of the process, breaking it down further by sub-topic. In the chapters themselves, these same headers serve as roadmaps that allow the reader to find information quickly.

Cremades himself speaks from personal experience, sharing his story of selling his previous company and how, following that experience, he co-founded Panthera Advisors, an investment banking and financial consulting firm.

All in all, Selling Your Startup is a comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs looking to sell their business.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Selling Your Startup as part of the Goodreads giveaway. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

[T. Laane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised to find a decent book among Audible “free” catalogue. The author indeed has a lot of experiences with IT-company exits and I got some golden nuggets that I have not heard about everywhere else, e.g. warnings about “sandbagging” clauses etc. And this was a more pro-active book about finding the big companies that want to acquire Your startup, not just passively waiting for offers or choosing among active players only. I also liked that this book is about the whole process - before the first thoughts of selling and than after the deal is done, how to continue with life and what remorse to expect even when sitting on a stash of money :)
PS! It was AFTER writing this good review that I found out the book is rated 4.61 on Goodreads :) Wow, what a nice rating - and yes, it was good.

[Alex Fell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive guide to selling your startup. Alejandro does an excellent job of focusing on the human and psychological aspects that go into the entire M+A process.

As he mentions multiple times, the large sale amounts grab the headlines, but are often misleading. This book focuses on how to optimize your exit, not just for yourself, but for your employees, your shareholders, and your idea.

I would strongly recommend this book to any entrepreneur. Within is all the necessary information to prepare you for the tough, but rewarding, M+A process.

[Denny Troncoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book about selling businesses. This is told from someone with a track record.

Startup sale
Podcast alejandro cremades dealmakers
5 million revenue in 5 years 2.5 pre revenue valuation
Choose potential acquire early
Value team, tech, market size, growth potential
Intros referrals best way to meet people
Be where people are at events, shows, resorts.
Linked in way to find acquirers
Sound like a potential acquirer
Vet the acquisition company
Who are the competitors you compare to
Loi letter of interest
Have super voting rights as founders

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

They say 50% of businesses or startups fail and I think what happens for alot of startup owners is that they are coming out of a job, so they are coming with an employee mindset.

Alejandro Cremades detailed how to startup and scale up our business or startup, not just about the dollars but also about human relations. This book is a perfect read for all intending entrepreneurs and already established entrepreneurs, because learning never ends.

[Sanjana · Rating 5 out of 5]

** Received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review **

I initially entered into the giveaway for my mom since she was looking to start her own business and after she was done, I read it myself and it was very detailed and I understood a lot of what was being said even though I am not a Business major. I recommend this book for anyone who is looking to start their own business or has a business that they would love to see grow!

[Bonnie Marshak · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy -to -read guide for those who have created a company and are ready to take it to the next step. The book covers all aspects of what should be done to make it work for all parties involved...entrepreneur, employees, partners and buyers. A checklist is provided as a guideline to make this happen.

[Princess OG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book as an entrepreneur myself. It helped me to understand the merger and acquisition process and it’s challenges. I especially enjoyed reading about some reasons why acquisitions fail. Overall, it is well written and very helpful.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great guide for anyone looking to sell your start up or scale up your business. It makes the process easy to understand. The book os thorough with check list and a framework on thinking through choices. It os a great read for new and existing business owners.

[HUONG DANG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is helpful for first-time startup founders. It represented very clear every step that needs to be prepared and done for a startup selling. However, with more examples of previous startups, the book could be more interesting and illustrative.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely everything you need to know. I also loved the way everything was broke down!!! An easy, fast, and very informative read

[Ron Frampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are thinking of selling your business this is a must read to help you.

[Elizabeth Foyt]

This book presents methods for making an orderly and well-considered sale of one’s business. The writing is clear and precise but avoids being sterile. A valuable for anyone contemplating a sale.

[Roberta Willis]

This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to sell a business or startup.
Very readable and easy to follow. A comprehensive guide to the whole process,
from start to finish.

[Lynette Adams johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is well written and had some really good pointers for owners who want to potentially sell their business in the future.

[Joanne Hetherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book for people that need the information.

[Barred Owl Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive guide from start to finish for selling your business! Filled with great pointers, and easy to follow - perfect for business owners and entrepreneurs or those thinking about it!

[Mary Tharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave this book to a friend ofmine who is starting her own business. She loves all the information.

[Aleksei Kolesnikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best book on startup-related M&A. Strongly recommend to all startup founders and senior managers.

[Kida · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Selling Your Startup, serial entrepreneur Alejandro Cremades delivers an accessible guide on how to sell your startup. With first-hand experience as a fully exited entrepreneur, investment banker, and lawyer, Cremades describes the tips and tricks startup founders need to sell their early-stage to growth-stage business.

Alejandro Cremades detailed how to startup and scale up our business or startup, not just about the dollars but also about human relations. A comprehensive guide to selling your startup. A thorough and practical book containing a complete checklist and framework for thinking through scenarios.

I would strongly recommend this book to any entrepreneur. Within is all the necessary information to prepare you for the tough, but rewarding, M+A process.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straight forward and informative. Lays everything out in practically a step by step manner. Not for just selling, has lots of good general business knowledge in it too. Keeps each section concise and easy to understand.