$50M was his number—here’s how he got there
“Josh Payne decided he wanted to build a $50M business, and that’s what he did,” shares Sam Thompson, a Minneapolis business broker and the president of M&A firm Transitions In Business. “In this episode you’ll hear Josh talk about growing without giving away your company, using profitability as leverage at the deal table and rebuilding purpose after the money clears.”
Unlike most tech founders, Josh Payne never dreamed of a billion-dollar valuation.
His goal was simpler—and harder. He wanted his equity stake to be worth $50 million.
To get there, he skipped the usual playbook. No blitzscaling. No VC treadmill. He raised a small seed round, built a profitable company, and avoided dilution. By the time he sold StackCommerce, Payne still owned 75%—and hit his number.
In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, you’ll discover how to:
- Grow without giving away your company
- Align your capital strategy with your exit goal
- Use profitability as leverage at the deal table
- Time your exit to take advantage of market cycles
- Avoid chasing size at the expense of freedom
- Rebuild your purpose after the money clears
Josh didn’t want headlines. He wanted freedom. And he built StackCommerce to deliver it.