In this episode, Neale Lewis talks with Rob Follows, founder and chairman of STS Capital Partners, about what it really takes to achieve an extraordinary exit as an entrepreneur.

They explore:

• Rob’s journey from being pushed out of the family business at 18, to building and selling his own company (at 27x EBITDA but later learning he’d left 75% on the table), to running $1B of business for a global buyer and founding STS Capital.
• Why so many founders are under‑represented in exits, the biggest myths and traps (including “private equity pays more than strategics” and “VCs are your friends”), and how the system is often structurally stacked against first‑time sellers.
• How to define your Owner’s Outcome – the must‑haves and nice‑to‑haves for your exit – so you don’t accept the wrong deal or walk away from the right one.
• Why strategic buyers typically pay more than financial buyers, and how to create competitive tension by mapping and engaging a global universe of strategics.
• The concept of “Rembrandts in the attic” – hidden assets in your business (IP, distribution, technology, relationships) that can be worth far more to the right buyer than to you as a stand‑alone operator.
• The Value Max approach: preparing years in advance, getting early feedback from strategics, and working with a coach and advisory team to deliberately build exit value.
• The importance of assembling the right exit advisory team – strategic coach, wealth advisor, M&A lawyer, tax specialist, and (if you’re staying) employment lawyer – rather than defaulting to long‑time but non‑specialist advisors.
• Rob’s life‑planning philosophy from his book “What Is Your Everest”, and how defining your “next chapter” helps you avoid the post‑exit “purpose cliff” and negotiate from a position of clarity, not fear.

STS Resources and recommended reading
What is your everest e book by Rob Follows
The Intelligent Exit by Mark Carmichael
The Extraordinary Exit by Andy Harris
STS Capital partners website - https://stscapital.com/

VALUABLE RESOURCES
Entrepreneurs at Scale Podcast - https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/scalingup
Scale Up Your Business, coaching/consulting: https://www.scalingup.co.uk/work-with-a-scale-up-coach
How Scaleable is your business? Discover your Scaleability Score: https://scaleable.scoreapp.com/
Are you ready to achieve a high-value exit? https://extraordinaryexit.scoreapp.com/
Scaling Up Tools and Resources : https://scaleups.com/

ABOUT THE HOST
Neale Lewis is a business growth expert and Strategic Exit Coach. He is focused on helping the entrepreneurs that he works with maximise the value of their organisations and when the time is right guiding them to achieve an extraordinary exit

His “Entrepreneurs at Scale” podcast, has more than 10k downloads in over 30 countries.

CONTACT DETAILS

Neale ’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nealelewis/
Neale's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scaleup_coaches/
Scaling Up Coaches website : www.scalingup.co.uk
email: neale@scalingup.co.uk