The Million-Dollar First Impression: How Buyers Value A Business in the First 20 Minutes

This session dives into how valuation happens before modeling, why founders unknowingly trigger multiple compression, and how clarity, preparation, and consistency shape buyer perception long before due diligence begins.

If you’re a business owner considering a sale, a buyer under LOI, or an investor evaluating lower-middle-market deals, this conversation reveals what separates confident deals from stalled or broken processes.

📌 What You’ll Learn

Why buyers value businesses before building models
How founder dependence impacts valuation multiples
What buyers infer without seeing spreadsheets
How inconsistent financials erode buyer trust
Why EBITDA ≠ cash flow in real deals
How sell-side Quality of Earnings protects value
When to answer questions — and when not to
Why deal fatigue causes sellers to lose leverage
How buyers and sellers think differently under pressure

Timestamps (Simplified & SEO-Friendly)

00:00 – Introductions & session overview
03:00 – Why valuation starts before modeling
07:00 – Founder dependence vs business independence
12:00 – Clarity, preparation, and buyer perception
18:00 – Signals buyers see without spreadsheets
25:00 – EBITDA vs cash flow in real deals
33:00 – Multiple compression triggers buyers notice
40:00 – Being valued before you’re modeled
46:00 – Sell-side QofE and preparation advantages
53:00 – Deal fatigue and late-stage leverage loss
59:00 – How sellers choose between competing buyers
1:06:00 – Certainty of close vs headline price
1:13:00 – Final takeaways and closing thoughts

This Session is a part of the 2025 Business Acquisition Webinar Series. Hosted by Patrick of O'Connell Advisory Group

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