Dear BTF Community,
Three main points Sean Stephens, CEO of Treefrog, makes in a recent interview:
- Rebranding Before Selling Increases Value
Stephens emphasizes that investing in a rebrand before selling a business can significantly boost perceived value and attract buyers. Like renovating a house before selling, a refreshed brand can make a business more appealing and competitive in the market. - Branding Delivers Immediate Performance Benefits
A strong, updated brand not only helps in sales but also energizes employees, excites existing clients, and attracts new ones. It leads to an immediate boost in performance and customer connection, which can improve financial results ahead of a sale. - Smart Branding Spend Can Improve Sale Multiples
By capitalizing branding and marketing investments (putting them on the balance sheet instead of the P&L), businesses can avoid affecting earnings used to calculate sale multiples—maximizing valuation without reducing reported profit.
Enjoy,
Mark
Sean Stephens, CEO of digital transformation agency Treefrog, is in the business of helping companies grow.
Based in Ontario and founded in 1989, Treefrog has grown into a collective of companies specializing in digital strategy, tech, marketing, and transformation. Stephens joined in 1997, bought the business in 2002, and has been leading it for over two decades.
“We’re a digital transformation agency because we do a lot more than marketing. We build software, we build apps—but the core thing is, we help companies grow,” says Stephens. “Typically we work with boring old Canadian companies—manufacturing, logistics. If you make something, ship something, hold something, send something, sell something, then we’re probably a company that can double your sales in two years.”
With a team of just under 50, Stephens says the company punches above its weight. “We just won Culture of the Year, Best Canadian Culture of the Year. We’re sort of well known, and we help a lot of companies move really fast.”
Stephens was one of the guest speakers at the recent Business Transitions Forum in Toronto.
Treefrog’s ecosystem also includes an accelerator for scalable tech startups, proprietary AI products, and backend hosting infrastructure.
Speaking at a panel titled “Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Attracts Buyers” at the Business Transitions Forum in Toronto, Stephens says many entrepreneurs wait too long to prepare their business for acquisition.Treefrog has bought a number of companies over the years.
“People like to paint their house before they sell it. You renovate your kitchen right before you sell your house,” he explains. “The reason you do that is because you want to get maximum value. The alternative is you clean up your act three, four, five years before you sell, and you might actually be happy in your own house.”
Stephens applies the same logic to business branding. “We’ve bought a number of companies—five other agencies, and our largest local competitor this past January. One thing we’ve found is people respond immediately to a refreshed, stronger brand.”
Branding, he says, isn’t just lipstick on a pig. It’s strategy.
“Before you can do a great job marketing, you have to improve your brand. You understand who your ideal client profile is, make sure all the aesthetics are right. And then what happens? You get an immediate performance boost.”
He adds: “Your employees are excited, your clients are excited, and you get new potential clients immediately. If you just do performance marketing, you don’t get the increase in brand connection. But if you increase brand connection, you get the performance lift and you get a loyal customer base.”
That connection, Stephens explains, also makes a company more attractive to buyers. And when done right, the return on investment can be significant.
“If you know you’re going to sell in the next two years, then take a branding package—spend a hundred grand or two hundred grand. A lot of that is rebranding, marketing materials, new domain, logo work. But here’s the kicker—you put all of that on your balance sheet, not your P&L.”
That means it won’t affect the profit calculations buyers use for valuation. “You get all of your money back, you get the performance boost, and you’ll see a huge increase.”
Stephens points to a real example. “The reason I got the panel gig is because someone we rebranded wasn’t planning to sell, but got three times what they were expecting. They’re still on their earnout, so they didn’t want to speak at the Forum—but they said, ‘Talk to Sean. He’s the reason we got the offers.’”
Whether or not a business ends up being sold, the benefits of rebranding are real.
“If it doesn’t sell, you get to live in a house with a nice new kitchen,” he says. “Organizations that go through a proper or well-thought-out rebranding process and use this intentionally can see a huge increase in their total sale value—and they get to enjoy it in the meantime.”
Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran of the media industry for more than 40 years and named in 2021 and 2024 a Top Ten Business Journalist in the world and only Canadian. He also made the RETHINK’s global list as a Top Retail Expert 2024 and 2025.