Selling or Exiting a Business
Selling your company, by acquisition, IPO, or a hand-off built over decades, is a once-in-a-lifetime tax event. As a CEPA, Adam Gould helps Bay Area owners maximize proceeds and plan what happens next.
The Exit Moment: Two Roads, One Decision
Selling your company is usually a once-in-a-lifetime event, and it tends to arrive faster than owners expect. There are really two roads: sell to an outside buyer or the public market, or transition the business to family or employees. Each has its own tax consequences, timeline, and emotional weight. The job is to choose deliberately, with the numbers in front of you, rather than react when an offer lands.
Before You Sell: Understand & Enhance Your Business Value
Knowing your value early is the heart of exit planning. As a CEPA, Adam helps you understand what your business is worth today, identify the value drivers that make a buyer pay more, and close the gaps that scare buyers off, all before you go to market. Owners who do this work negotiate from strength instead of guessing.
Tax-Smart Exit Strategies (QSBS, Concentrated Stock, Charitable)
Most of the tax savings on a sale are won before the deal closes, not after. Depending on your structure we may use QSBS (Section 1202) exclusions and trust stacking, staged diversification of any stock you receive, installment timing, and charitable strategies. The biggest savings come from structures put in place well before a signed letter of intent, which is why we like to start 18 to 24 months out.
After The Sale: Turning A Windfall Into A Plan
When the wire hits, the first move is to do nothing rash. We help you set aside taxes, build a diversification plan for any concentrated stock, create a dependable income stream, and align the proceeds with your retirement, family, and giving goals. A one-time event becomes a durable, tax-aware plan rather than lifestyle creep.
Not Every Exit Is A Sale.
Succession To Family Or Employees
If your intent is to pass the business to the next generation or to a key team, we coordinate the valuation, the funding, and the tax treatment so the handoff is fair to you and survivable for the business. We work alongside your attorney and CPA to put the structure in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A liquidity event turns one concentrated asset into investable wealth. We build a plan first: an investment strategy matched to your goals, a tax plan for the sale year and beyond, reserves for what's next, and a legacy or giving plan, so the proceeds fund the life you want rather than sit idle or get over-concentrated again.
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Knowing your value early is the heart of exit planning. As a CEPA, Adam helps you understand your current value, identify the drivers that make a buyer pay more, and close the gaps before you go to market, so you are negotiating from strength rather than guessing.
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A Certified Exit Planning Advisor is trained to align your business value, personal financial goals, and tax planning into one coordinated exit. It matters because most owners get one shot at a sale; a CEPA helps you enhance value, time the exit, and keep more of the proceeds.
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Often, yes, if we plan early. Depending on your structure we may use QSBS (Section 1202) exclusions, trust stacking, charitable strategies, and staged diversification of any stock you receive. The biggest savings come from structures put in place well before a signed letter of intent.
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For tax structures, 18 to 24 months ahead is the sweet spot; QSBS trust planning in particular loses its power inside roughly 12 months of a deal. For value-building and succession, several years is even better. The earlier we start, the more options stay open.