Thirty years building his company, and it ran only around him. No buyer: without him, there was nothing left to buy. Eighteen months of restructuring later, it ran without him. That’s when it became sellable.
30 minutes with Reinhard Voelkel · Confidential · No obligation
A company that runs without you, and sells at the right price.
We bring your company to the point where it can be handed over or sold, and keep running without you.
We bring your company to the point where it can be handed over or sold, and keep running without you.
100,000+
1 in 3
6.6 years
Your company runs, but would it run without you?
Nobody buys a job
A buyer who sees everything depend on you is pricing a job, not a company.
Everything hits at once
Legal, tax, family, team: every advisor pulls in a different direction, and you become the bottleneck.
Most owners start too late
Readiness takes years. Starting early doesn’t mean selling early: it means never selling under pressure.
Two ways forward, one method
What makes a company sellable, or not
The Executive Matrix
Ten dimensions of analysis10 / 10
01
Owner Decision Readiness
Sell, hand over, or both? Until that’s settled, nothing starts.
02
Successor Availability & Fit
Family, management, or a buyer: with the means and the will?
03
Management & Organization
Does the company decide without you? That’s the first thing a buyer checks.
04
Process & Knowledge Transfer
What lives only in your head can’t be sold.
05
Governance & Legal Structure
Clean articles, agreements and contracts: legal ambiguity lowers every offer.
06
Financial Transparency
Numbers that tell a clear, verifiable story make due diligence fast.
07
Market & Business Viability
Does the model hold five more years? Buyers pay for the future.
08
People & Culture Stability
If key people leave with you, the value leaves too.
09
IT & Digital Readiness
Systems that run without workarounds. Buyers audit the IT.
10
Ownership Transfer Readiness
Tax, financing, timeline: the last mile is often what blocks.
The journal
Our latest thinking
How Do Business Owners Retire? Free to Say No to an Offer
Most sell or hand over the company. Those who do it well know years ahead what the price must fund, and save outside the firm so they can say no.
Can You Retire From Your Own Business Without Selling It?
Yes, if the company can pay a manager at market rate and still produce your income after that. Then your role changes: you govern from the board.
Business Succession Planning: Who on Your Team Retires When You Do?
List your key posts with birth years. If two or three fall within three years of yours, a buyer sees several successions: allow about five years.
Frequently asked questions
A 60-minute conversation mapping your company across ten dimensions: a scored map, your main bottleneck, a prioritised 90-day plan. No hundred-page report.
The diagnosis prepares a succession over time. The Sprint responds to a situation that cannot wait. The first call settles it.
Yes. The 30-minute call is free, with no obligation. If a deeper diagnosis makes sense, we propose it afterwards, transparently.
No. It’s a conversation. What happens next, a diagnosis, your current advisors, or going alone, is entirely up to you.
If you’re asking, no. Transferability is built years ahead, and a company that runs without its owner is worth more.