Don't sell to the roll-up. Be the roll-up.

For owners of profitable businesses earning $2 million or more a year. Private equity buys companies like yours at 4–6 times earnings, combines several, and sells them for far more. A public listing lets you capture that value yourself.

No fee for the first conversations. If this isn't right for you, we'll say so.

Who this is for

You own a profitable business, probably have for 15 years or more, and expect to exit someday. Maybe in five years, maybe ten. You may not be thinking about it yet.

You know roughly what a buyer would pay today. You've seen private equity firms and individual buyers approach your competitors. And you suspect the number you'd get isn't what your company could be worth.

This is for you if:

• Your business earns at least $2 million a year
• You or your family own most of it
• You know competitors you'd buy, people you'd hire, or partners you'd sign if you had more to offer
• You have five or more years of drive left

Who this isn't for

• Owners who want to be out within two or three years. Going public takes about a year, and the benefits take several more to build.
• Businesses with declining earnings, or that depend on one customer
• Owners who want to keep everything exactly as it is

Skip the private equity step

Here's how a private equity roll-up works. A firm buys several companies like yours at 4–6 times earnings. It combines them into one larger business. Then it sells that business, or takes it public, at a much higher multiple. The owners who sold capture only the first, cheapest step.

A public listing lets you take the platform role yourself. Public markets typically value profitable companies at 10 times earnings or more. Growth, sector and execution decide where in that range a company lands.

An illustration:

• Sell today: $2 million in earnings at 4x is worth $8 million.
• Public, same business: $2 million at 10x is worth $20 million.
• Public, after 4–5 years of growth: $4 million at 10x is worth $40 million.

That's the difference between selling for 4 times today's earnings and building to the equivalent of 20 times. These figures are illustrations, not promises. Your multiple will depend on your sector, your growth and how well the plan is executed.

There are also more owners trying to sell businesses your size than there are buyers. A larger, public company appeals to more buyers, including strategic acquirers who would rather buy one large company than five small ones.

Five ways a public company grows faster than a private one

Acquisitions are only one of them.

1. A higher multiple. The same earnings can be valued at 10 times or more in public markets, versus 4–6 times in a private sale.
2. Credibility. Audited, public reporting builds trust. That helps you negotiate better distribution agreements, strategic partnerships and customer contracts.
3. Talent. Stock options let you hire executives who would never join a private company, and keep the people you have.
4. Advisers who open doors. Options let you bring experienced outsiders onto an advisory board. They don't work for you, but they have reasons to introduce you to opportunities you'd never see.
5. Acquisitions. Public stock becomes currency. You can buy the competitors you already know, rather than being one of the companies someone else buys.

How it works

1. A few conversations. Two or three calls, at no charge. We walk through your numbers, the path and the costs, and tell you honestly whether it makes sense.
2. A small private placement. You raise a modest amount, typically $100,000–500,000, from people who already know you: family, friends, employees, long-standing customers and suppliers. This creates the shareholder base a company needs to trade. Most of these holders never sell.
3. Audit, filings and listing. Your company is listed for trading on the OTCQB market, usually in about a year. We introduce you to the auditors, accountants and securities lawyers you'll need, and help manage them. We take no fees from them.
4. Build. You use the five levers for as long as you choose. We stay on as your strategic adviser for as long as we're adding value.
5. Move up if it helps. Nasdaq or the NYSE are options later, not requirements. Being public is what creates the advantage, not which exchange you're on.

What it costs

• What's included: our monthly advisory fee plus stock options, covering everything we do, including the private placement. There's a 90-day minimum, then it's month to month. If you decide to stop, you stop.
• Other costs: audit, legal and accounting fees, plus exchange, government and filing fees. These vary with each company's size, complexity, accounting, business type and jurisdiction.
• Your estimate: we can give you a realistic figure once we know your company and have seen your financials. Until then, any number would be a guess.
• For comparison: selling a business through an M&A adviser typically costs 3–5% of the sale price in fees, and afterward you no longer own the company.

More ways out than a private owner has

A private owner usually has one exit: find a buyer and accept their price. A public company gives you choices, and you decide when.

• Sell the company, now larger and appealing to more buyers.
• Step back. Bring in a management team and move from CEO to chairman.
• Sell shares gradually, on your own timeline.
• Let the buyer come to you. A larger private company that wants to be public can merge into yours. It's faster and cheaper for them than going public on their own, and your shares become part of a much bigger company. The company that would have bought you can merge into you instead.

What you should know before contacting us

1. We are paid monthly plus stock options. We do well when your company does well over years.
2. We are not a broker-dealer. We don't sell securities or contact investors for you. The first shareholders are people who already know you.
3. You probably don't need to raise much money, and you don't need to give up control.
4. We have no investor lists or funds waiting to buy your stock. If anyone promises you those, ask them to show you.
5. We won't represent a company if any officer or director has a criminal conviction, or if the business harms people or animals.
6. Going public isn't right for every owner. If it isn't right for you, we'll say so in our first conversation.

Who we are

Meraki Partners has taken 17 companies public: 11 direct listings, 4 reverse mergers and 2 IPOs. Our founder was a partner at a 700-person investment bank and an analyst at two asset management firms. We've structured these transactions from every side, and we know how the decisions interact.