Preparing your business
for the exit it deserves.

Scott Foster has been on both sides of the table — building businesses for exit and running sale processes alongside PwC and Crescent Capital. He knows what buyers look for, what kills deals, and how to close the gap.

The Reality

Most businesses
aren't ready to sell.

Clean financials, normalised EBITDA, documented processes, a management team that can operate without the founder, and a compelling growth story — buyers expect all of it. Most businesses have none of it prepared until it's too late.

Shape Executive works with business owners 12–24 months before a planned exit to close those gaps systematically and without disrupting operations. The result is a business that commands a premium, attracts serious buyers, and completes.

Our Process

How we prepare
your business for sale.

Exit Readiness Assessment

A candid, structured review of your business through a buyer's lens. Financials, governance, operations, team, customer concentration, IP, and growth story. You'll understand exactly where you stand and what needs to change.

Financial Normalisation & EBITDA Presentation

Working with your CFO or accountants to normalise earnings, remove owner-specific costs, and present a clean, defensible EBITDA that withstands buyer scrutiny.

Operational Documentation & Process Design

Buyers want to see that the business runs without you. We document SOPs, install management reporting, build KPI dashboards, and create operational structures that demonstrate scalability.

Management Team Development

A business where the owner is the business is a risk, not an asset. We identify gaps, strengthen the leadership bench, and help develop the management team that will carry the business through transition.

Growth Story & Information Memorandum Support

Crafting a credible, compelling narrative about where the business has been and where it can go. We work alongside your advisors to ensure operational claims are real and defensible.

Management Presentation Preparation

Scott has sat in management presentations to PE firms. He prepares leadership teams for the questions they'll face — financials, assumptions, risks, integration — so they perform with confidence.

What We Address

Common gaps that
kill deals or compress multiples.

Customer Concentration

One customer representing 40%+ of revenue is a red flag. We help diversify the revenue base or structure the story to contextualise the risk.

Owner Dependency

If the business can't run without you for 90 days, it's not a business — it's a job. We build the structures and teams that change that.

Messy Financials

Management accounts that don't reconcile to statutory financials, normalisation items not documented, and inconsistent reporting erode buyer confidence immediately.

No Growth Story

Buyers pay for the future, not the past. Without a credible, evidence-based growth narrative, you're selling yesterday's earnings at a discount.

Undocumented Processes

If the know-how lives in people's heads, it walks out the door on day one. Process documentation is an intangible asset — and buyers price it accordingly.

Working Capital Issues

Excess inventory, slow debtors, and poor cash conversion compress valuation. We've improved working capital materially in every business we've operated.

“Scott led our Australian and New Zealand businesses with exceptional skill — driving strong growth, building a high-performing culture, and preparing the business for a successful sale.”

Denis Matulin

Managing Director — Hydraulink Australia

Former direct manager, Dotmar Group 2008–2011

Before You Go to Market

Build a value creation plan.
Not just an exit plan.

The best exits are engineered over 12–24 months, not announced. A value creation plan is the structured roadmap that gets your business from where it is today to where it needs to be to command the multiple it deserves — or simply to be worth more to you, whether you exit or not.

Not every business owner wants to sell. Some want to build enterprise value to retain — to create a business that runs profitably without them, generates strong cash returns, and gives them options. A value creation plan serves both outcomes.

The plan covers

EBITDA baseline & normalisation

Working capital structure

Pricing architecture review

Owner dependency reduction

Management team development

Governance & process documentation

Growth story development

Enterprise value benchmarking

Exit timeline & sequencing

Retain vs. sell decision framework

Two outcomes. One plan.

Exit at maximum value

A business positioned to attract the right buyers, withstand due diligence, and command a premium multiple at the right time.

Retain & compound

A business that generates strong returns, runs without the owner, and creates genuine options — whether that's eventual sale, succession, or simply financial freedom.

Preparing your businessfor the exit it deserves.

Most businessesaren't ready to sell.

How we prepareyour business for sale.