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August 26, 2025 87 mins

For today’s episode, Mike is joined by Mark Adams, founder of Acquisition For You, and author of secrets to 10x ing Your Business and Cashing Out Tax Free. He has helped founders scale businesses from zero to 30 million in 18 months, engineer an exit worth hundreds of millions and build a value growth framework used by clients backed with over 22 billion in capital. 

Listen in to find out how to grow through acquisition, even if you have zero cash, and then exit your newly expanded business without losing what they have built, while paying far less tax. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Most businesses and their founders unnecessarily lose 30-55% of the sale price.

  • Plan your business exit from the start so you can minimise tax liabilities and other exit costs.

  • Because businesses are typically worth 6-9x revenue, increasing that revenue just before selling makes you a huge amount more.

  • Organic growth typically delivers 10-20% annual growth.  The right bolt-on acquisitions are a far faster way to accelerate growth.

  • Mark shares strategies that can generate annual growth of 20% to 40%, and sometimes more.

  • Multiple small acquisitions can be more valuable than one large acquisition.

  • Improve business systems and processes to increase value.

  • Using the "consulting for equity" approach that Mark explains can enable you to acquire businesses without upfront cash.

  • Build good relationships with sellers during the acquisition process.

  • Work with tax specialists to structure your business for minimal tax exposure.

  • Consider tax-advantaged jurisdictions.

  • Use wealth protection strategies.

BEST MOMENTS

15:27 “We work on ways in which we can double the value of their business inside a year without it costing them any more of their own money.." 

19:26 "To minimise that taxation level, they must start with that. First, you don't go out and advertise the business for sale and then start structuring the business to reduce taxes." 

45.47 "I'm not doing anything that the super-rich like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos have been doing for a long time with different strategies, but the end game is the same. I've just made it available to people like you and me." 

1.12.27 “Generally, businesses that are where the owner is the face of the business are easier to acquire.”

1.22.29 “An earn out is that the business is worth one, but you've agreed to five. So, the four is the earn out portion that you're going to agree to give them on certain conditions.”

If you enjoyed the show, please do me a favour - Hit that subscribe button and send me your growth challenges at https://masteringtechgrowth.com . I really want to know what you're working on and what keeps you up at night.

ABOUT THE GUEST

https://linktr.ee/TheMarcAdams

ABOUT THE HOST

Meet Mike, a seasoned tech entrepreneur and visionary with over two and a half decades of invaluable experience in founding and scaling successful tech start-ups. Mike brings a wealth of firsthand knowledge, and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and tech professionals.

As a host, Mike is dedicated to sharing actionable insights, strategies, and stories gathered from conversations with industry leaders, innovators, and experts. With a remarkable ability to distil practical wisdom from guests, Mike curates engaging discussions that resonate with both aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals. 

Mark as Played

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