Exit Queen — Founder Assessment Series

The
Sellability
Score™

A 20-question diagnostic that tells you exactly what's making your business unsellable — and what it's costing you right now.

$97

Instant access · 15 minutes · Your score today

A word before you begin

"Here's what this score is going to tell you — and why most founders avoid finding out."

Welcome message from Esther

≈ 90 seconds

How to use this scorecard

Score your business across 5 dimensions of sellability.

Most founders assume their business is worth what they've put into it. Buyers see something different. This scorecard surfaces the gap — across the five dimensions that determine whether your business can be sold, and at what price. Answer honestly. No one is watching. The more truthful you are, the more useful your score becomes.

Answer all 20 questions — 4 per dimension — using the 0–5 scale.

Your score is calculated automatically. Maximum possible score is 100.

Read your result band and what it means for your exit value today.

Progress 0 of 20 answered

Operational Independence

Can your business run without you present?

Score: —/20

Q1.If you were unavailable for two weeks with no phone or email access, your business would continue operating normally without major disruptions.

Q2.Your team has documented processes for all core operations — client onboarding, service delivery, billing, and issue resolution — that do not require your personal involvement.

Q3.You have at least one person on your team who could manage day-to-day operations and client communication for 30 days without your guidance.

Q4.When you take time off, you genuinely disconnect — you do not check in, answer calls, or resolve issues remotely.

Decision Architecture

Does your team decide, or do they wait?

Score: —/20

Q5.Your team members make routine client-facing and operational decisions daily without needing your approval or input.

Q6.You have a written decision framework that tells team members what they can decide independently, what needs escalation, and what requires your final approval.

Q7.In the past month, you have not been the bottleneck on any decision that delayed a client deliverable, a hire, or a business process.

Q8.Your team does not seek your approval before communicating with clients about standard service matters, billing questions, or project updates.

Financial Clarity

Can your numbers survive buyer scrutiny?

Score: —/20

Q9.Your books are clean, current, and could withstand a buyer's financial due diligence request today — without needing months of cleanup first.

Q10.You know the difference between your available cash and your committed obligations at any given time — and you manage them separately.

Q11.You have 3 years of clean P&L statements, consistent revenue reporting, and documented owner compensation that a buyer could interpret without your personal explanation.

Q12.Your revenue growth over the past two years has been accompanied by improved — not worsening — cash flow and margin stability.

Knowledge Transferability

What happens when you leave the room?

Score: —/20

Q13.All critical business knowledge — pricing logic, client preferences, service delivery standards, vendor relationships — is documented and accessible to your team without asking you.

Q14.A new owner could step in and run your business at the same quality level within 90 days, using the documentation and systems you currently have in place.

Q15.Your key employees do not hold any critical knowledge or relationships exclusively — if they left tomorrow, the business would continue without catastrophic disruption.

Q16.Your business has a defined, repeatable service delivery model that produces consistent outcomes — and does not depend on your personal judgment or involvement to work.

Client Portability

Do clients buy your business — or just you?

Score: —/20

Q17.Your top five clients have strong relationships with your team and brand — not just with you personally. If you left, you believe most would stay.

Q18.New clients are brought in through a defined business development process — not primarily through your personal network or referrals to you specifically.

Q19.No single client accounts for more than 20% of your annual revenue — reducing the concentration risk buyers flag during diligence.

Q20.Client contracts and engagement letters are signed with your business entity — not with you personally — and would transfer to a new owner without requiring client consent.

Please answer all 20 questions to see your score.

Your Results

Dimension Breakdown

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Operational Independence

—

Decision Architecture

—

Financial Clarity

—

Knowledge Transferability

—

Client Portability

Total Sellability Score™

—

/ 100

What Your Score Means

Your result band tells you exactly where you stand — and what it means for the value a buyer would place on your business today.

80–100

Exit-Ready

Your business can stand without you. Protect what you've built.

You have done the structural work most founders never do. Your business has real transferable enterprise value — it can operate, grow, and serve clients without your daily presence. A buyer looking at your business sees a system, not a person.

Your EBITDA multiple is in the top tier for your category — protect it by keeping systems documented and actively updated.
The primary risk at this stage is complacency. Systems erode when founders stop reinforcing them.
You are positioned to go to market within 6–12 months. An Exit Readiness Diagnostic™ can confirm your market-ready valuation.

60–79

Exit-Possible

You could sell, but you'd leave significant money on the table.

You have made real progress toward a sellable business — but there are specific gaps that are compressing your multiple right now. Buyers will see them. A distressed-seller dynamic is still possible if you go to market without closing these gaps first.

Every point below 80 represents real dollars lost at the negotiating table — often 0.5x–1.5x EBITDA per major gap.
The 12–18 months before going to market is where the highest-leverage work happens. Now is not too early to start.
An Exit Readiness Diagnostic™ will pinpoint which of your 5 dimensions is compressing your multiple the most — so you fix the right thing first.

40–59

Exit-Risky

Diligence would surface what you already know. The gaps are real.

At this score, a serious buyer's diligence process would expose multiple dependency and operational fragility issues. The result: a price reduction, an earn-out clause that ties you in for years after closing, or a dead deal entirely. None of this is irreversible — but the clock matters.

Founder dependency at this level typically discounts business value by 30–50% from what comparable systemized businesses command.
You likely already feel the operational weight this score reflects — the exhaustion, the bottlenecks, the inability to step back.
The S2Q™ Exit Method was built specifically for this score band. The first step is the Exit Readiness Diagnostic™.

0–39

Exit-Trapped

Your business cannot be sold in its current state. This is fixable.

This score does not reflect your ability as a founder. It reflects a structural reality: you built a business that runs through you, and the systems, documentation, and independence needed to transfer it do not yet exist. This is the most common score — and it is entirely reversible.

In its current form, a sale attempt would likely require you to stay on for 2–5 years post-close — an earn-out that delays your actual exit indefinitely.
Every month operating at this level costs you leverage and adds to the time required to reach sellable.
This is exactly what the S2Q™ Exit Method addresses from the ground up. Your first step is the Exit Readiness Diagnostic™ — a paid working session that maps your blockers and builds your 24-month path to sellable.

What This Score Costs You

Every gap below has a direct dollar impact on what a buyer will offer — and on what terms.

The Gap	What Buyers See	Exit Impact	Urgency
Founder as operating system	Operations collapse without the owner — fails the Day 91 test every serious buyer runs.	Unsellable or earn-out only. 2–5 year post-close retention required.	Critical
Team waits for approval	No organizational independence. Buyer immediately prices in management fragility.	0.5x–1.5x EBITDA multiple compression on sale price.	Critical
Messy or unaudited books	Diligence time bomb. Unreconciled financials invalidate LOIs and collapse valuations mid-process.	Deal death or 30–50% price reduction demanded.	Critical
Undocumented knowledge	The business cannot be transferred. The operating manual lives in one person's head.	Buyer requires extended transition or rejects deal entirely.	High
Clients loyal to you personally	Revenue walks out with the founder. Personal goodwill is not transferable and not priced into the multiple.	Up to 40% of stated revenue excluded from valuation.	Critical
Key employee dependency	Two single points of failure. Buyer holds leverage on terms and deal structure.	Retention agreements, escrow holdbacks, or buyer walk-away rights required.	High

A message about your score

"You now know your score. Here's what most founders do next — and what I'd recommend instead."

From Esther — please watch before booking

≈ 2 minutes

Your Next Step

Now you know the gap. Let's measure what it's costing you.

The Sellability Score™ shows you where the problems are. The Exit Readiness Diagnostic™ tells you exactly what they're worth in dollars — and gives you a precise roadmap to close them before you go to market.

90-minute working session with Esther

Written diagnostic report delivered post-session

5-dimension gap analysis mapped to dollar impact

Priority-ordered action plan to reach sellable

Valuation range estimate based on your current position

Full fee credited toward S2Q™ engagement if you proceed

Book Your Exit Readiness Diagnostic™

$999 · One-time

TheSellabilityScore™

Score your business across 5 dimensions of sellability.

What Your Score Means

Now you know the gap. Let's measure what it's costing you.

The
Sellability
Score™