PODCAST REVIEW: Turning a Business into a Sellable Asset with Scott Duke, Founder of OpnRoad (Ep. 22)
Featured this week 10–10–23 in TheHub Mainstreet M&A news and events:
The Hub Short Take:
Scott Duke, founder of OpnRoad, shares his experience of building and selling his Canadian property management company. He discusses the challenges he faced and the steps he took to make his business a sellable asset. Scott emphasizes the importance of removing owner dependency and building a strong team to maximize the value of a business. He also talks about the emotional detachment and post-sale transition that business owners may experience. Scott then introduces OpnRoad and explains how the company helps lower middle-market businesses prepare for sale and connect with strategic buyers.
Key Takeaways:
- Building a sellable asset requires removing owner dependency and building a strong team.
- Vacation rental management companies are highly sought after assets due to their difficulty to build and their competitive advantage.
- Many businesses in the lower middle-market are unsellable due to lack of preparation and investment in people and processes.
- OpnRoad focuses on serving lower middle-market businesses and helps them prepare for sale and connect with strategic buyers.
Quotes:
- “The biggest challenge in building a sellable asset is removing owner dependency.” — Scott Duke
- “Vacation rental management companies are difficult to build and have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.” — Scott Duke
- “About half of the businesses we evaluate are unsellable assets at their current state.” — Scott Duke
The Guest(s):
Scott Duke is the founder of OpnRoad, a company that provides valuation, sell-side advisory, and buy-side advisory services for North American companies with revenues between $2 million and $25 million. He has founded over 11 companies in the past 20 years and has experience in scaling and selling businesses. Scott is an entrepreneur and an avid extreme sports enthusiast.
The host:
The podcast “Finish Big” is hosted by Mark Dorman and is a venture from Legacy Business Advisors. This podcast takes its inspiration from the critically acclaimed business author Bo Burlingham and his book “Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top” 1. The primary goal of the podcast is to guide entrepreneurs through the intricate journey of exiting their businesses successfully. It emphasizes the importance of having a well-thought-out exit plan and offers practical advice on how to go about it 2 3 4.
In each episode, listeners are treated to success stories that illustrate exit plans executed right, thus providing practical insights and tips. Through conversations with various entrepreneurs, Mark Dorman delves into their experiences, shedding light on the different facets of exit planning, succession planning, and the transition processes essential for a successful business handover 4.
The Article:
A Close Examination of Transitioning Businesses to Marketable Assets: A Dialogue with Scott Duke of OpnRoad
In the ever-evolving domain of entrepreneurship, the journey from inception to a lucrative exit remains an enigmatic venture for many. The How2Exit team, deeply immersed in the discourse of business transition, recently explored the narrative of Scott Duke, the brainchild behind OpnRoad, through a podcast hosted by Mark Dorman titled “Finished Big.”
Scott Duke, hailing from British Columbia, Canada, has garnered substantial recognition through his venture, OpnRoad, which stands as a beacon for North American firms navigating the labyrinth of valuation and market transition. With a revenue bracket of 2 to 25 million dollars, these enterprises represent a sector ripe for meticulous examination and tailored advisory services, a niche OpnRoad is meticulously carving.
Our team delved into the chronicle of Duke’s entrepreneurial endeavours, particularly focusing on his venture, Revelstoke Property Services. The venture, originating in the quaint locality of Revelstoke, Canada, unveiled to Duke the lucrative potential nestled within the vacation rental niche. The strategic pivot towards this domain marked the beginning of a journey towards crafting a marketable asset, a narrative that resonates with numerous entrepreneurs nestled within the fabric of small community businesses.
The nuanced expedition from a hands-on managerial role to orchestrating a self-sustained operational model unfolded over two years, underscoring the quintessence of relinquishing control. Duke’s narrative reverberated with the ethos of leadership evolution and the essence of trust in fostering a self-reliant enterprise, a narrative that echoes the sentiments of many business leaders on a similar voyage.
The meticulous preparation eventually culminated in the listing of Revelstoke Property Services on traditional marketplaces. The narrative unfolded with the entry of a US-based private equity firm, marking the commencement of a new chapter. However, the retrospection brought forth the essence of exploration in identifying potential buyers, a lesson invaluable for entrepreneurs in a similar juncture.
Post the successful transition, Duke’s entrepreneurial spirit birthed OpnRoad, a venture embodying the ethos of providing a nuanced layer of advisory services to lower middle-market businesses. The array of services, ranging from valuation to sell-side advisory, reflects a meticulously crafted approach towards aiding business owners in navigating the complex narrative of business transition.
OpnRoad’s methodology, rooted in a data-driven approach, aims at meticulously evaluating the sellability of a business, thus enabling a narrative of continuous improvement. This approach, underscored by a proprietary grading system, stands as a testament to their commitment towards aiding businesses in enhancing their market value pre-transition.
As the narrative of exit planning continues to morph with the shifting business landscape, Duke envisions a burgeoning demand for specialized services catering to the lower middle-market. OpnRoad, with its tailored solutions, aims to bridge this chasm, providing a scaffold for businesses navigating the complex terrain of exit planning.
The insights gleaned from Duke’s journey, the transition narrative of Revelstoke Property Services, and the inception of OpnRoad, paint a rich tapestry of the entrepreneurial journey towards a lucrative exit. The ethos of early planning, meticulous preparation, and the essence of tailored advisory services encapsulated in OpnRoad’s narrative, present a roadmap for businesses on a similar trajectory.
In summation, the dialogue with Scott Duke, orchestrated by Mark Dorman, unveils a narrative rich with insights for lower middle-market businesses poised at the cusp of transition. The tailored advisory services embodied by OpnRoad stand as a beacon for enterprises navigating the complex domain of exit planning, marking a significant stride towards demystifying the narrative of business transition in the lower middle-market realm.
