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Episode 216

Patents and Profitable Exits: Todd Sullivan’s M&A Wisdom

This week on The Exit: Todd Sullivan, CEO of ExitWise, shares insights from his journey through multiple successful exits, starting with a hockey equipment patent that he licensed and sold 22 months after creating it.

After this, Todd progressed through several ventures, including companies acquired by CBS and Microsoft, before founding SpiritShop.

Todd emphasizes the importance of balancing venture capital expectations with personal goals, advising entrepreneurs to prioritize their own financial security over investors’ demands for outsized returns.

Through ExitWise, Todd now helps other founders navigate M&A processes. His advice to entrepreneurs is to view exits as part of a longer journey rather than a single defining event, encouraging founders to take wins when available and build upon their successes.

For more details and insights from his entrepreneurial journey, listen to the latest episode of The Exit.

Personal Bio: 

Todd Sullivan is a highly successful tech entrepreneur who has built and sold 4 companies. His companies have been acquired by strategics including Microsoft, CBS, and Amer Sports and a private equity-backed platform. Today, Todd is the CEO of Exitwise.com where his company helps founders and business owners who are thinking about selling their businesses, hire and manage the world’s best M&A experts to maximize the sale of each business.

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddfsullivan/

Exit Wise Website & Podcast – https://exitwise.com/

– https://www.youtube.com/@exitwise

Check Out Flippa’s Data Insights Tool: https://flippa.com/data-insights

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/

YOUR HOST

Steve McGarry

An entrepreneur, content creator, and investor based in sunny Tampa, Florida. In 2015, while living in San Francisco, Steve sold his first fintech startup LendLayer to Max Levchin’s (founder of PayPal) consumer finance company Affirm.

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