A Brutally Honest Guide to Selling Your $5-$50 Million Business
Coming November 2026
Most owners sell a business once. Buyers do this for a living. This book closes that gap.
David Trent spent 27 years building a company and then sold it. Now he works with owners of founder-led companies worth $5 million to $50 million on what their business is worth and what is quietly holding that number down.
Thirty short, blunt chapters on valuation, buyer expectations, timing, and the decisions that shape your exit long before anyone makes an offer. Read it whether you plan to sell in two years or twenty.
Ideas Built From Experience
I spent 27 years building a business, and then I sold it. The second job taught me more than I expected, and most of it I wish I had known ten years earlier.
I have sat in the seller’s seat, and it is a lonely place to be. I spent decades getting good at running my firm and almost no time learning how a buyer would judge it. Most of what I know about selling a business, I learned in the middle of the deal, when it was hardest to act on.
Now I sit with owners of founder-led companies worth $5 million to $50 million, usually years before they plan to sell. The questions are almost always the same. What is my business really worth? What will a buyer see that I don’t? What can I still change? This book is my honest answer, written so you can read it before that conversation starts, not after.
Why I wrote this book
Because owners deserve straight answers before they need them. Too much of what gets said about selling a business is either a sales pitch or a pep talk. I wanted to write the version a trusted friend would give you across the table: what your business is likely worth, why, and what is quietly holding that number down.
Why you should read this book
If you own a founder-led company worth $5 million to $50 million, you will probably sell it once. The people across the table do this for a living. These thirty short, blunt chapters cover valuation, buyer expectations, timing, and the decisions that shape your exit long before anyone makes an offer. No jargon, no flattery, and nothing you can’t act on.
Why you should read it now
Because the decisions that set your price are being made today, not the year you sell. How you report your numbers, how much the business depends on you, and who you have in place to run it all show up in a buyer’s offer. Whether your exit is two years away or twenty, the time to start is before you need to.