Negotiating an Exit From Your Technology Start-Up

Best practices when negotiating your technology exit.

That great moment arrives when you are actually in a real negotiation to exit your start-up. But it’s your first time and you want to avoid the usual traps.

Here's what to do:

1. Remember to agree to a short close. Don’t do the 18-month or two-year close
   with performance stages. Keep it short.
2. Time your close and your negotiation to coincide with the length of your
   patent or other intellectual property protection. Don’t wait too long. You
   could devalue your uniqueness.
3. Avoid signing an exclusivity deal except in extremely rare circumstances.
4. Keep parallel negotiations or exit paths alive – at least one or two others,
   even if at an earlier stage. You need options.
5. Develop numerous exit ramps. Talk freely with the other party about what
   circumstances would lead to each exit ramp. Have the guts to talk about this.

Our great team assists clients daily with this and other business negotiation
challenges. We help principled leaders excel!