Building for the Buyer
What acquirers actually diligence, why most founders optimize for the wrong metrics, and how to build a business that survives the founder leaving. Drawn from five exits — three companies and two football clubs.
Speaking
I don't do keynotes about the future of anything.
I talk about what happens in the rooms where companies and football clubs get bought, sold and fixed — from someone who has been in them with his own money on the line.
Topics.
Fans, Not Customers
What professional sports ownership teaches you about audience that consumer brands still don't get. Building supporters instead of buyers, and why loyalty programs are the wrong answer to a belonging problem.
Selling an Agency Without Getting Taken
How agency valuations really work, what kills a multiple, and the twelve months of unglamorous cleanup that changes the number more than any pitch does. For owners who will only do this once.
The Economics of Football Ownership
How clubs actually make money — matchday, sponsorship, player trading — and why most owners get the wage bill wrong. From two club exits and two more in the group, the honest version of a business everyone romanticises.
What Your Agency Isn't Telling You
How agencies scope, price, staff and mark up — from someone who owns several. How to read a scope of work, what a fair margin actually is, and the five questions that expose an underperforming partner in one meeting.
The American Soccer Opportunity
Why the US is the most interesting market in football right now — new leagues, new audiences and no century of habits to undo. What operators moving into the space get wrong, from someone building in Brooklyn.
Formats
- Keynote (30–45 min)
- Fireside or moderated panel
- Half-day executive workshop
- Board and leadership offsites
Who I speak to
- Founder and CEO groups
- Industry conferences
- Portfolio company summits
- Agency and marketing leadership events
- Sports ownership, club and league executive events
- University and executive programs
Have an event?
Tell me the audience, the date and what you want them to walk out believing. I'll tell you if I'm the right fit.
Get in touchThirty minutes. No deck.
Tell me what you're trying to get done — a deal, an exit, an agency problem, an empty seat. I'll tell you what I'd do and whether I'm the right person to do it.