Exit Readiness Checklist for Founders (12 Months Out)
A practical checklist for founders who want optionality — not a fire sale — twelve months before an exit.
Twelve months out
- Clean cap table and option documentation
- Customer contracts assignable on change of control
- Management team retention plan sketched
- Quality-of-earnings narrative drafted in plain language
Six months out
- Buyer long list segmented (strategic, financial, hybrid)
- Data room skeleton live
- Story tested with advisors you trust
- Concentration and key-person risks documented with mitigation
Ninety days out
- Parallel option creation instead of single-buyer dependency
- Diligence Q&A playbook for your team
- Clear "why we are selling" narrative that survives buyer scrutiny
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