3 x EBITDA To 13 x EBITDA In Just 2.5 Years

EBITDA Selling a Business

3 x EBITDA To 13 x EBITDA In Just 2.5 Years

Jeffrey Feldberg and Stephen Wells founded Embanet to help colleges take learning online.  Embanet provided hosting, tech support, course conversion, and then moved into helping universities and colleges fill the online programs. 

Despite their unorthodox management style, Feldberg and Wells built Embanet to 200 employees in just 7 years. When they decided to exit, they had $18M in EBITDA and 80 interested buyers. They sold for $200M, which was around 13x EBITDA.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What a cockroach startup is and why it may be a good option for you
  • The benefits of bootstrapping and having cash restraints
  • The downside of budgeting
  • How many months cash flow you should have in your war chest
  • The dangers of focusing too much on revenue
  • The biggest mistake they made in selling (and why Feldberg and Wells believe they left 20% on the table)
  • Secret clauses and negotiating tactics to use in your engagement letter with your M&A professional

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