The Ripple Effect: A Simple Exit-Ready Shift for 2026
Happy New Year from Ripples Edge Advisors!
Hello friends,
January always seems to arrive with a mix of momentum and reflection. As things start to settle back into their usual rhythm, this feels like a good moment to pause…look up from the day-to-day, and think about the kind of ripples we want to create in the year ahead.
This edition is all about small, thoughtful moves that make your eventual exit feel less like a cliff and more like an intentional journey.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Ripples Edge Advisors is proud to launch our 2026 Referral Program. We’ll drop the details below!
Happy New Year and here’s to a wonderful and prosperous 2026!
Kimberly Wasney & Alex Seydel
Co-Founders, Ripples Edge Advisors
Ripples in Action
At the beginning of our work together, a client mentioned that he had received an offer to buy his business for $10M. On the surface, it was exciting news—but he wanted to be sure both he and the business were truly ready before saying yes. So, we sat down with him for an Exit Exploration Workshop to pressure-test that readiness and identify any gaps.
Over the two-day session, we uncovered a few key areas that would slow down diligence and drag down valuation, including:
Tight profit margins
Heavy owner dependence in the sales process
An inexperienced leadership team without clear roles and accountabilities
The owner made the decision to pause on the offer and invest in strengthening the business first. Over the next 18 months, we worked together to:
Improve profit margins by 10%
Hire key sales support to remove the owner from day-to-day selling
Train and develop the leadership team, and implement an organizational chart with clear accountabilities
When the same Buyer came back, their offer had increased to $15M - a 50% jump in just a year and a half. The Buyer was willing to pay more for a business they could step into and operate on Day One, without spending months catching up or cleaning up messy processes.
The moral of the story:
a focused season of readiness can translate directly into a higher valuation and more money in your pocket at close.
Exit Essentials
Here’s a simple January-friendly “Exit Readiness Starter Kit”.
First, look ahead: at the end of 2026, how do you want to describe your business in one word - transferable, profitable, sellable, delegated, efficient, purposeful, or something else entirely? Take a minute to sit with what it would feel like for that word to be true.
Then ask yourself: what is one simple action you can take this quarter to move in that direction?
If you’d like a little help with that step, hit reply with your word of the year and one challenge you’re facing in making it real. A short Loom video will come your way with one practical tip on where to start.
Making Waves
Ripples Edge Advisors is on the move this month! Find us in Austin, Denver, or Chicago!
Know any business owners or Founders in Austin, TX? Invite them to join Ripples Edge Advisors and Kinship Milk Tea on Thursday, January 22 for a Walk & Talk event!
In Denver? Join Co-Founder Alex Seydel at the Dealmaker Wisdom for 2026 event on January 27th, hosted in collaboration with Pierson Ferdinand, Class VI Partners, the Women of Mergers & Acquisitions Network, Plante Moran
For those in the Midwest, join Co-Founder Kim Wasney at the MBBI Annual Conference Grit to Growth: Winning in Uncertain Times on January 29th.
2026 Referral Program
Ripples Edge Advisors is delighted to launch our 2026 Referral Program as a way to show our gratitude for your trust in us. For each client you send our way ($5,000 minimum spend), we’ll give you the choice of the following:
$1,000 credit towards an Exit Exploration Workshop for you and your team
$500 cash
$500 donation to a charity of your choice
We appreciate all of your support and look forward to sharing our success with all of you!
We’d love to hear from you!
Thank you for reading and for letting Ripples Edge be part of your thinking this month. If this sparked a question or you’re wrestling with what “exit ready” means for you, hit reply. Those are the conversations this newsletter is meant to start.
And if a particular founder or business owner came to mind while you were reading, feel free to forward this along or introduce us - we’re always glad to be a sounding board as they plan their next chapter.
