Building a Small Business You Can Sell
Here's how to build a small business you can sell--even if your exit is still years away. Read more
Exit Strategies
Recent Exit Strategies Articles
Demystifying Small Business Valuation
A successful small business sale begins with a solid grasp of business valuation. Here's what you need to know to set your company at the right price. Read more
Journey From Start-up to IPO
Software-maker ExactTarget went public earlier this year and now boasts a market cap of over $1.3 billion. Founder Scott Dorsey explains the journey. Read more
How Obama Will Help or Hurt Your Business Sale
President Obama won't have much time to celebrate his win as several key issues loom that could have a large effect on your ability to sell a business. Read more
How to Build a Company You Can Sell: 4 Rules
A seasoned entrepreneur offers his best tips to get to an exit. A good first step: Give up the idea that you're building the next Facebook. Read more
Prep Your Business to Sell for Top Dollar
A little polishing up today can boost the value of your business tomorrow. Here are three places to start. Read more
Long Before the IPO: Shutterstock's Formative Decision 
To sustain a business, Shutterstock CEO Jon Oringer had to balance his price for photos with his payment to photographers. Watch video
How to Sell Investors Your Dream
NYC TechStars managing director David Tisch on how to make an effective case for getting funded. Watch video
Is My Company Really Worth More Than The New York Times?
Evernote CEO Phil Libin ponders his company's billion-dollar valuation. Read more
Buying a Small Business in a Foreign Country
Your hired experts and own personal research are essential tools for success when purchasing a small business in another country. Read more
5 Steps to a Successful Seller Financing Deal
With today's tight lending restrictions, offering seller financing may be the key to selling your business and earning a big takeaway. Read more
5 Best Resources for Selling a Small Business
Don't kid yourself. You're going to need help to pull off the successful sale of your business. Here are five resources you'll need in today's marketplace. Read more
How to Sell Your Business (& the Land It's On)
When small business sellers own their buildings and land, they need to plan properly in order to successfully sell each. Read more
Facebook COO: Small Business Is Web's Holy Grail
As Sheryl Sandberg courts Madison Avenue and Wall Street this week, she discussed Facebook's IPO fallout and wooing small business. Read more
Managing the Emotional Toll of Selling Your Small Business
Don't let your emotions--sorrow, anger, or a sense of loss--hijack the sale of your small business. Here are tips on keeping a level head. Read more
Why'd You Start Your Business? 3 End Goals
Before you do anything else, figure out why--in the first place--you launched your business. You need to know now what you want to get out of it. Read more
Entrepreneur Ben Lerer: 'I Realized I Had Been Going to Work the Wrong Way'
When his father, Ken Lerer, sold The Huffington Post, Ben Lerer realized it's not all about the exit. Watch video
Is Your Company Suffering From Short-Term-itis?
Managing partner of Satori Capital Sunny Vanderbeck says an overemphasis on short-term results can cause relationships with key stakeholders to erode in a bu... Read more
Steve Case: IPOs Are Good for You
The founder of AOL makes a good case for why an IPO is often the best exit strategy for a company's founder. But Case has his reasons, and they may not be yo... Read more
How 'Confidential' IPOs Are Changing the Market
In April, the JOBS Act ushered in a new way to go public. It's already popular. Read more
Is the IPO Party Over?
The initial public offering has long been the ultimate goal of successful entrepreneurs. But now the decision to go public is much more difficult--and riskie... Read more
Forget IPO. The New Goal? Get Acquired
Economists might explain the decline in IPOs through market conditions. The start-up and venture capital communities see it differently. Read more
Wait, the IPO Party Is Just Getting Started!
An IPO could still be the right exit strategy--if your company fits the bill, or breaks the old rules. Read more
Best of Recent IPO Blunders
What is it about going public that inspires such boneheadedness in otherwise super-capable entrepreneurs? Here are the most notorious recent cautionary tales... Read more
What's the ROI on Your Company?
Before you approach an investor to fund your growth strategy, make sure you are able to articulate what they will receive in return. Read more
What Makes Method's Sale to Ecover So Different?
Acquisitions often fail. So what makes Method founders Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry believe the sale to Ecover could buck the trend? Read more
Hidden Benefit of Process
Why standardizing operations is crucial for scaling up--and cashing out. Read more
Private Again and On the Move
Life After the Inc. 500: Blackboard CEO Michael Chasen has loved every minute of taking his company public and then back to being private--while maintaining ... Read more
An Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg
Inc.com columnist Phil Simon says Facebook could solve a few key problems with one simple solution: Charge users--they'll pay. Read more
4 Keys to a Successful Exit
Don't focus on an eventual sale. Instead, make sure you get these fundamentals right. Read more
No Succession Plan & an Uncertain Legacy
Life After the Inc. 500: An untimely death and no succession plan left Michelle Taylor at the helm of her mother's company, Betah Associates, with no oars. Read more
How to Explain Stock Options to Employees
Think it's not your job? Wrong. If your employees make a mess of their options, it hurts you more than you think. Read more
Do Stock Lock-ups Kill Hot Internet Companies?
Investors blame the stock slides at Zynga, Facebook, & Groupon on employee lock-ups. But the root of the problem goes much deeper. Read more
Why Fewer Start-ups Are Going Public
Don't blame Facebook: Start-up IPOs have been on the decline for a while. Inc. dug into the numbers to find out why. Read more
Inside Zynga's Fun House, Workers Say Games Are Over
After its stock takes a nosedive, former Zynga employees reveal disillusionment in the gaming giant's work force, while analysts paint a bleak picture. Read more