The Exit - Presented By Flippa

• From Startups to the Stock Exchange: How Callum Laing Took 100 Companies Public and Redefined the Exit Gam

  Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business, and you’ll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- In this episode of The Exit, host Steve sits down with Callum Laing, partner at Unity Group, author, and serial entrepreneur who has helped take more than 100 companies public. With decades of experience across Asia, Europe, and beyond, Callum shares his contrarian approach to growth, exits, and how founders can use the capital markets as a scaling tool, not just a finish line. From his first recruitment business during the dot-com boom to running a global group that helps small businesses access public market advantages. Callum has seen it all, from booms, busts to breakthroughs. He explains why most entrepreneurs under-optimize for profit when gearing up to sell, how boards can fast-track business maturity, and why timing the market is less about prediction and more about preparation. Callum’s insights extend beyond valuation multiples. He talks candidly about common M&A mistakes, the power of strategic positioning, and why founders should sell “as soon as they can” to regain their most valuable resources: time and capital. This episode is a masterclass in scaling smart, negotiating with leverage, and learning faster through failure. -- Callum Laing is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and M&A specialist with over two decades of experience building and scaling companies across multiple industries. As a Partner at Unity Group and Founder of the Global Investment Leaders Directive (GILD) and the Veblen Director Programme, he helps business owners unlock liquidity, accelerate growth, and gain access to global capital markets. A passionate advocate for ethical capitalism and entrepreneur-led innovation, Callum has worked extensively with private equity firms, family offices, and public markets to bridge the gap between fast-growing private enterprises and institutional investors. LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/callumlaing/ Website - https://callumlaing.com/ -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

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• The Eight-Figure Miss: Hard-Won Lessons From Multiple Exits with Danny Davis

  Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business, and you’ll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- Danny Davis, CEO of Hyperfi, shares hard-won lessons from multiple exits including taking a cannabis tech company public and missing an eight-figure investment in Loom. Key Topics: • How a hospital bed insight led to patenting the world's first cannabis cartridge filling system • Why board control is make-or-break for successful exits (and what happened when he lost it) • The revenue vs. investment dilemma: when to kill your cash cow for the bigger bet • Being Loom's first customer, offered to be first investor, and saying no—an eight-figure miss • Why he only invests in founder-led companies now (even controversial ones like Travis's Uber) • Building Hyperfi: applying Ben Horowitz's People → Product → Profit formula • The "N+1 strategy" for risk management every entrepreneur needs • Why timing is everything: two years makes the difference between too early and too late Biggest Takeaway: "For every person I talk to that has hindsight, they always had an inkling. The mistakes happen when you sell yourself short or get out too early." Danny went from 13 years in corporate IT to multiple successful exits by spotting pattern-breaking opportunities in taboo markets. Now he's building Hyperfi, an AI-powered IT procurement platform solving a $1.5 trillion problem. -- Danny Davis is a multi-exit founder, technologist, and hands-on operator known for building companies that push industries forward. From taking Convectium public at a $100M+ valuation to leading W3Box.io’s blockchain and AI-powered membership systems for global brands, his ventures bridge the physical and digital worlds. Holding eight patents across connected packaging and authentication, Danny’s work sits at the intersection of design, code, and commerce. Now founder of HyperFi, an AI-native enterprise IT platform, he leads with precision, purpose, and his guiding motto: “Break to Fix.” LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannydavis12/ Website - https://hyperfi.ai/ -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

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• De-Risk, Delegate, and Deliver a Great Exit: How Certified Exit Planner Julie Keyes Helps Founders Sell Smart

  De-Risk, Delegate, and Deliver a Great Exit: How Certified Exit Planner Julie Keyes Helps Founders Sell Smart Business Valuation Text Ad: Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business, and you’ll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- In this episode of The Exit, Steve welcomes Julie Keyes, a serial entrepreneur turned Certified Exit Planner and faculty member at the Exit Planning Institute (EPI). Julie shares how her own difficult exit nearly two decades ago inspired her to guide business owners toward smoother, more profitable transitions. Julie breaks down exit preparedness into two core pillars: owner readiness and business readiness. She stresses that true readiness starts long before a sale: owners must update legal, tax, and estate plans, and ensure their personal finances and mindset are aligned with life after the exit. On the business side, she focuses on transferability, decentralizing the owner’s role, building strong teams, and creating a company that can thrive without its founder. Julie also discusses timing the sale, navigating the “five Ds” (death, divorce, disagreement, disability, and distress), and structuring negotiations with the help of skilled M&A advisors. Her message is clear: “Don’t wait for an offer to learn what your business is worth.” This episode is a practical masterclass on planning early, reducing risk, and protecting your life’s work. -- Julie Keyes is the founder and owner of KeyeStrategies, an advisory firm helping entrepreneurs build enterprise value and prepare for successful business transitions. A lifelong entrepreneur turned Certified Exit Planning and Value Growth Adviser, Julie brings firsthand experience from starting, growing, and selling multiple companies. Recognized twice as EPI’s “Thought Leader of the Year,” she’s a national speaker, faculty member for the CEPA Program, and author of Poised for Exit: A Woman Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Transition. LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliekeyes/ Website - https://keyestrategies.com/ Podcast - https://keyestrategies.com/podcast/ -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

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• The Hustler’s Playbook: Peter Korbel’s Journey from Food Trucks to a Tech Acquisition

  -- Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business, and you’ll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- In this episode of The Exit, serial entrepreneur Peter Korbel shares how a decade of reinvention, from running a colorful D.C. food truck to founding a Manhattan coworking space, ultimately led him to build and sell StoreMe, an on-demand luggage storage startup acquired by London-based Stasher. Peter reveals how StoreMe began with a simple frustration: nowhere to drop off his gym bag or Airbnb guests’ luggage. Armed with hustle and $500K in seed funding, he personally signed up 100 stores on foot, grew to over 600 partner locations across the U.S., and turned a profit within a year. But when COVID-19 hit, travel stopped overnight. Rather than quit, Peter rebuilt, and positioned StoreMe for acquisition by a competitor he’d nurtured a relationship with for years. His exit story blends sharp business instincts with deep personal reflection, including the loss of his father and the importance of staying organized, transparent, and resilient. Today, Peter channels those lessons into 135 Madison, his consulting firm helping founders raise capital, and his new Substack, Startup Anatomy. His advice: “It’s all a hustle. Every lesson compounds if you just keep going.” -- Peter Korbel is a seasoned business consultant and tech founder with over 15 years of startup experience, known for turning bold ideas into thriving ventures. With one successful exit to his name, he’s launched and led companies including Washington D.C.’s first food-truck operation, one of the world’s earliest on-demand luggage storage platforms, and Blender Workspace, a high-end co-working hub for entrepreneurs in New York City. A Columbia University graduate with an MBA from The George Washington University, Peter now advises founders and investors across Manhattan and the Bay Area, blending sharp strategy, creative execution, and an unmatched entrepreneurial network. Website - https://www.135madison.com/ -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

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• From Startup to Coca-Cola and Back Again: The Full-Circle Journey of ZICO Founder Mark Rampolla

  Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business, and you’ll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- In this episode of The Exit, Mark Rampolla, founder of ZICO Coconut Water and co-founder of GroundForce Capital, unpacks one of the most fascinating comeback stories in consumer brand history. Mark shares how he went from being a Peace Corps volunteer in Central America to launching ZICO, scaling it into a household name, and ultimately selling to Coca-Cola. He breaks down what it was like to negotiate with one of the world’s biggest corporations, why timing and category positioning were everything, and how he structured a deal that protected both his vision and the company’s future. Then came the twist. When Coca-Cola offloaded over 200 brands during COVID, Mark bought ZICO back, reigniting the very company he had built from scratch. Now, with GroundForce Capital, he’s helping the next generation of founders build sustainable, purpose-driven businesses ready for exit. This is a must-listen episode for entrepreneurs looking to understand what makes a brand acquisition-worthy, how to negotiate from a position of strength, and how to know when it’s time to sell (or buy back). -- Mark Rampolla is a visionary entrepreneur, investor, and author dedicated to empowering mission-driven leaders and building businesses with purpose. As co-founder and co-managing partner of GroundForce Capital, he helps bold founders scale companies that create lasting impact. He previously founded ZICO Coconut Water, pioneering the multibillion-dollar coconut water category and selling the brand to Coca-Cola before famously buying it back. Over his career, Mark has invested in more than 100 companies, served on over 20 boards, raised over $1 billion in capital, and generated over $5 billion in enterprise value. A former Peace Corps volunteer and corporate executive, he is the author of High-Hanging Fruit as well as the soon to be released An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Freedom, and continues to inspire entrepreneurs to break free from constraints and lead with true freedom. Websites - https://www.groundforcecapital.com/ - https://www.markrampolla.co/ Pre-order his book - https://a.co/d/3c5nOSD -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

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