What’s My Business Actually Worth? The Valuation Mechanics Buyers Use  

Most business owners are scaling without answering the most important question first: what aEvery business owner has a number in their head — but is it the number a buyer would actually pay? Valuation isn't guesswork, and it isn't just a multiple of revenue or EBITDA pulled from an industry rule of thumb. It's a specific, defensible calculation buyers run before they ever make an offer, and most owners never see how it actually works until they're already at the negotiating table. 

This session pulls back the curtain on the real mechanics: how multiples are actually set, what moves them up or down for a business like yours, and why two companies with similar revenue can sell for wildly different prices. You'll learn what buyers are quietly adjusting for before they land on a number — and what levers are actually in your control long before a sale is on the table. 

Whether you're years away from a transition or actively weighing your options, understanding how buyers price a business changes how you run it today. This is the first of three sessions tracing the full financial picture of a transition — this one covers what your business is actually worth, B2A this afternoon covers how you structure getting that value out, and B2C covers what you keep after tax. 

Key Takeaways: 

• How buyers actually calculate a valuation multiple — and why "industry average" rarely applies to your business 

• The specific factors that move your multiple up or down (and which ones are in your control) 

• Why EBITDA alone doesn't tell the whole story — normalization, add-backs, and what buyers scrutinize 

• How to spot the gap between what you think your business is worth and what a buyer will actually pay 

Practical steps to start closing that gap now, whatever stage you're at — including where real AI-driven efficiency is starting to move multiples, and where it’s just surface-level "AI-washing" buyers see through