Thinking About Selling or Leaving Your Business?
Ask the questions keeping you up at night.
Maybe you’re ready to sell. Maybe you’re wondering what your business is worth.
Or maybe you know something needs to change, but you’re not yet sure what that means.
I’m Maureen Brown, though most people call me Mo. I’m an Austin-based M&A advisor with Lion Business Advisors and the former co-founder and CEO of Mosie Baby, a company I helped build and ultimately sell.
I’ve been on the founder side of this conversation myself, and I know there is a difference between having information and having someone help you make sense of it.
Every business is different. Every owner’s reasons for considering an exit are different, too.
Our conversation is a starting point for questions like:
What is my business worth?
Understand some of the factors that influence business valuation, including profitability, owner involvement, financial performance, and buyer demand.
Can I sell my business?
Explore whether your business might be attractive to a buyer, what buyers typically look for, and whether there are things worth addressing before putting it on the market.
How do I prepare to exit my business?
Talk through potential timelines, succession considerations, documentation, and the steps that could help you prepare for a future sale.
Can I transfer my business to someone else?
Consider what an ownership transition to a family member, employee, partner, or management team could involve.
What if I’m not sure I want to sell?
That’s okay, too. Sometimes the first step isn’t choosing an exit strategy. It’s understanding the possibilities.
Someone with real, lived experience.
Before becoming an M&A advisor, I co-founded and was CEO of Mosie Baby, a company that developed the first FDA-cleared, at-home insemination device.
When it came time to sell, I experienced firsthand how complicated, and personal, the process can be. I ultimately led the company’s strategic acquisition, working through buyer discussions, due diligence, deal terms, and the transition that followed.
That experience changed the way I think about business exits.
Today, I work with business owners through Lion Business Advisors, bringing both an advisor’s perspective and the experience of someone who has actually built and sold a business (and closed a business).
I’m also a member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and the Texas Association of Business Brokers (TABB). You can read more about me here.
What to expect from your free consultation
This is a complimentary, introductory 20-minute conversation with me, Maureen Brown.
We’ll start with where you are, what’s keeping you up at night, and how you can move the needle forward right now.
Depending on your situation, we may talk about valuation, sellability, market readiness, preparing for a sale, transferring ownership, or whether you need more time before making a decision.
You don’t need to bring financial statements or have everything organized. It is helpful though if you understand and can speak to your current cash flow.
The purpose of our call is to help you identify a sensible next step and to answer questions about the services I provide.
A formal business valuation, legal review, or detailed exit plan is not included in this introductory call.
Common questions
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Yes. There is no charge for the introductory conversation and no obligation to hire an advisor or pursue a sale.
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A meaningful business valuation takes more than a 20-minute conversation. We can discuss what influences your business’s value, including its financial performance, profitability, and potential appeal to buyers. If you’re interested in understanding what your business may be worth, I also offer business valuation services that provide a more detailed assessment to help you make informed decisions about your next steps.
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No. Many owners begin exploring their options long before they are ready to make a decision.
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Yes. We can talk about the considerations involved in an internal ownership transition and whether specialized professional guidance may be needed. We can also talk about how the SBA has recently made Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) a more accessible option.
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Our conversation is handled with discretion. We can discuss sensitive business questions without requiring you to share proprietary documents during the introductory call. Please keep in mind this is a free, 20 minute conversation so I am not able to sign an NDA prior to our call. If we decide to work together beyond that first conversation, we’ll establish the appropriate confidentiality protections for our engagement.
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I’m based in Austin, Texas, and work as an M&A advisor with Lion Business Advisors.
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Yes. I am able to work as an advisor and depending on your state I may also be able to help you list, sell, and finalize the acquisition transaction for you. Reach out if you have questions via email here.
Why should I use an advisor when ChatGPT and Claude can do this for me?
You should use them. AI is incredibly useful for researching options, organizing your thinking, and helping you ask better questions.
But, there are limitations to these, including their accuracy with regards to current market trends, business valuations, and the under-current of emotions facing sellers in what is very likely the largest financial transaction of their life.
An advisor can ask follow-up questions, challenge assumptions, spot what may be missing, and help you weigh the financial, operational, and personal realities at the same time. I can also tell you when I think you are solving the wrong problem, when you may be moving too quickly, or when you need a CPA, attorney, lender, valuation, or another specialist instead of me - and connect you to one of our vetted partners.
And if you decide to sell, the role changes again.
Selling a business means identifying and vetting buyers, understanding the current market and industry dynamics, evaluating offers, and among other things, putting together a deal structure that works for everyone involved. It also means managing a due diligence process that can stretch for months while you are still responsible for running the business.
That matters. It is hard to operate a company, represent yourself in a transaction, negotiate with a buyer, and stay objective at the same time.
A third-party advisor can create some distance between you and the buyer, manage the transaction, keep momentum when things get complicated, and help surface potential deal killers before they become deal killers.
I have also been through this as a founder. I have built, sold, and closed businesses myself, so I know these decisions rarely fit neatly into a prompt. And, they most definitely require human to human interaction to build trust between buyers and sellers.
Use AI to explore the possibilities.
Use me to help you decide what actually makes sense for you in the current market, and to help you achieve your goals with success.