Collective 54, the first community exclusively for founders of professional services firms, proudly announces a significant milestone: fifty member firms have successfully sold their businesses since the community’s launch in January 2020. With a combined deal size of over $3 billion across North America, this achievement validates Collective 54’s proven approach to helping founders scale their businesses, maximize firm value, and achieve successful exits.
The member firms represent a broad spectrum of the professional services landscape, including consulting, IT services, marketing agencies, accounting and finance, legal services, architectural and engineering services, design, and software development firms. The buyers in these transactions have been a mix of private equity firms and strategic acquirers, highlighting the strong market demand for best-in-class professional services companies.
“Collective 54 provided a checklist of key questions to ask yourself when you’re thinking about selling your firm. What’s special about this is that it asks the questions from an investor’s perspective, not from an operator’s perspective. Without Collective 54, I don’t think we could have exited as successfully as we did,” said Mike Stern, Founder of Connected, a consulting firm.
“Taking on a PE partner for my growing consulting firm was one of the biggest decisions of my life. The Collective 54 community gave me the playbook and support I needed to prepare for a successful transaction. From picking an investment banker, structuring the deal, to choosing the right buyer, the guidance was instrumental in helping me achieve a great outcome,” added Matt Rosen, Founder of Allata, an IT Services Provider.
“Collective 54’s fiftieth successful member exit marks a unique achievement that speaks to the financial and operational success of C54 members and the unique preparation those members have received within the community. I’ve had the pleasure of representing several C54 members on their exits, and in my experience, they come to the deal table with a level of sophistication and readiness far surpassing the average founder. That makes them great clients, and more importantly, ideal partners for their buyers,” noted Emanuel Clark, M&A Counsel at Winstead PC, a corporate law firm.
“In my experience, Collective 54 members approach the market better prepared than most founders. They understand what buyers want, which streamlines the transaction process and consistently leads to stronger outcomes,” said Greg Fincke, Managing Director, Co-Head Americas of Equiteq, a global investment bank.
“For founders of small service firms, the idea of an exit often feels out of reach. Collective 54’s 50th exit is proof that it’s not just possible — it’s happening. Greg has been a guest on Built to Sell Radio more than once, and his stories consistently inspire founders aiming for the finish line,” commented John Warrillow, Founder, The Value Builder System.
Listen Now on Built to Sell Radio https://builttosell.com/radio/episode-492/
