As a successful business owner, are you equipped with the knowledge about how to set your business up for a strong exit?
It’s never too soon to become familiar with how to get your business exit-ready, and Volaris is here to guide you through the process.
Volaris Group hosted a webinar in May 2025 featuring insights from two of our M&A experts, Group Leaders Mike Borello and Jeff Luchetti. They shared their perspectives on how business owners can prepare for the sale process and answered audience questions.
Did you miss the webinar? Watch the replay or read the summary below.
What to consider before starting a sales process
Before selling a business, ask what your priorities are as a business owner. Some of the questions raised by our speakers:
- What type of home do you want for the company?
- How do you envision the future for the business?
Asking these questions from the start will help you identify what type of acquirer to engage with.
It’s important to understand the M&A process from the buyer’s perspective. To help buyers understand your business, ensure you have organized and accurate data, our speakers advised. Acquirers will also need access to leadership, since you will be making important decisions together before, during, and after the sale. Therefore, establishing trust is critical.
Building your M&A team
During the preparation stage, you may wish to consider engaging professionals who can guide the early stages of the process, such as an M&A advisor.
“Even for a very capable leader, you can’t take it all on yourself,” said Borello, while noting that M&A teams within Volaris Group are fully equipped and can help guide the process.
During a sale process, you will want to ensure key team members within your business are ready. The finance and IT security teams will need to be able to act quickly and pull relevant information. The HR department is another important resource during an M&A process, since sellers will want to know about the senior leaders and other key personnel who help keep the business operating smoothly.
Preparing your financial data
A potential acquirer will want to look at clean financial data, including three to five years of financial statements, income statements, and balance sheets, shared Jeff Luchetti from his perspective as a former CFO. Making this data clear and presentable to a buyer can help smooth the process along. When looking at financials, a potential buyer will want to see one-time revenues separated from recurring revenues, EBITDA, customer acquisition costs, attrition rates, and a forecast.
If a business owner has a particular valuation in mind, the acquirer will want to see that valuation grounded in supporting information. Borello recommends consulting a chartered accountant (CPA) to check that a desired valuation is realistic.
“The better you can articulate that value through data and presentation, the better you can make a case for the valuation you want.”
Getting ready for due diligence
Before going through the due diligence stage, Borello advised clearing up any uncertainty about ownership of the intellectual property that is part of the software product’s sale.
“We are thorough in our diligence so it’s better to bring up [any known issues] early, before you get too invested in the process,” adds Luchetti.
If the business has more than one owner, he also recommends they make sure they align on their expectations for the deal. Are there some owners who want to retire while others want to continue working within the business?
Luchetti further added that full transparency is crucial for developing trust during the M&A process. This means that a potential buyer will want visibility into metrics such as booking, attrition, recurring revenue, or anything else that can demonstrate the sustainability of the company’s finances.
Growth and the future of the business: Processes, operations, and key players
Any potential buyer will want to see that there is room for the business to grow. As the current business owner, you should be prepared to communicate what areas of the company could be improved and where the business may be looking for help. For example, could the business benefit from any newly created roles to help it grow further, such as a sales or marketing specialist? Luchetti advises that business owners need to be as objective as possible when assessing the company’s weaknesses and showcasing its strengths.
Consider your next steps as a business owner and what they would mean for succession planning within the company. The speakers advised being clear and honest about what you are looking for. If you sell the business, are you looking to stay on in a leadership role? If so, what kind of professional growth are you looking for? Luchetti spoke about his own experience of CaterTrax being sold to Volaris. When the previous owner sold to Volaris, it provided an opportunity for him to move from the CFO to the CEO role.
