Preparing to Raise Capital or Sell a Small Business

If you are considering raising capital or selling your company, here are a few of the items you should consider having on hand; they will be among the first things requested:

  • Summary of the need for capital or reason for a sale or recapitalization
  • Financial statements for the prior 3 years and current year-to-date
  • List of sales by major customer for the prior 3 yrs and current year-to-date
  • List of sales and gross profit by product or service type (assuming the business has multiple lines) for the prior 3 yrs and current year-to-date
  • List of major suppliers and the % of total cost of sales each represents
  • Basic organizational chart
  • Summary of any excess owners excess compensation, rental expense above or below market rates, and/or excess owners benefits for the prior 3 yrs and current year-to-date

This list expands on the list on our website.

Having this information ready will help a potential capital source, be it a bank, private equity firm, etc., more quickly determine whether there's a fit, and if so, how they would structure the deal.  It also gives the impression that you are serious about doing a transaction, which is helpful.

clay

Clay Brock - General Partner

Clay made his first small company investment in the late 90’s and never looked back, joining forces with Scott in 2004 to raise Hadley Capital Fund I. Over the past thirty years he has helped dozens of small companies to implement growth and improvement initiatives.

On a personal level, Clay enjoys skiing, hiking, cycling and walking his yellow lab, Mr. Bingley. Clay is also an instrument-rated private pilot, and he is actively involved in a number of community and non-profit organizations.

Clay received a degree in English from Gettysburg College and his MBA from the University of Chicago. He and his wife Amy have three children and live in Winnetka, Illinois. As a family, they enjoy spending time at a cabin outside of Knoxville, Tennessee near the Smoky Mountains.