04 Apr Built to Sell: Garren Hilow on Selling for $190M, Taking Stock, and Missing His Earn-Out
When Garren Hilow helped start Abveris, he didn’t have much—just a background in sales, a co-founder with a Harvard PhD, and a stock option representing 16% of the company.
Eight years later, he bought out his co-founder, bootstrapped the company with bank debt (collateralized by his house), and sold it in a stock deal that peaked at $190 million.
You will discover how to:
Buy out a majority owner without cash
Reposition a custom service as a product
Run a sales process with 12 offers and drive up the price
Avoid common mistakes during an earn-out
Spot the difference between dumb money and VC
Deal with burnout after an exit
Lose a $20M earn-out and still come out ahead
This is an Exit Story episode of Built to Sell Radio, the podcast designed to help you punch above your weight in a negotiation to sell your business.
