Why Early Exit Readiness Is a Growth Strategy

When you mention "Exit Readiness" to an early-stage founder, it's natural for their guard to go up. The conversation might be taken as a lack of faith, like moving the finish line up because you don't think the runner can go the distance. As the head of platform and portfolio success, I’m sensitive to the perspective. But I think more founders are beginning to view these conversations through the lens of discipline rather than doubt.

At Rise of the Rest, we’ve spent years building infrastructure for high-potential startups in overlooked ecosystems. I’ve worked with our portfolio across themes like founder development, fundraising, talent, and wellness (a legitimate KPI in my book that I’ve coined: ROW—return on wellness). But the framework I’m most proud of? The Exit Readiness Lab, our most engaged programming to date. From founders finding product-market fit to teams scaling toward growth, even the most heads-down portfolio companies were tuned in.

I know what you’re probably thinking: Why should a seed-stage fund focus its portfolio support on strategic optionality? For one, our first check is early, but our portfolio spans from seed to growth, and we support founders through the entire startup lifecycle. And second, because building with an end game in mind—whether that’s years away or arrives unexpectedly—is part of building a durable company.

We’re Pushing You, but It’s Not Toward the Door

Ensuring the companies we back are prepared for future optionality is about longevity. Markets shift. Competitors consolidate. Inbound interest can arrive when you aren’t looking for it. Founders don’t work this hard to be caught off guard by their own success. I think of exit readiness as a founder’s ability to choose what comes next.

TheNumbers on Today’s Exit Market

Exits today aren't always decades in the making. According to recent data from Peter Walker at Carta, the M&A market is heating up, and its targets are surprisingly early-on:

• About 50% of acquisitions in 2025 involved companies at the pre-seed or seed stage.
• Another ~40% involved startups at Series A.

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M&A has historically made up the vast majority of venture-backed exits, and that trend has become more pronounced over the last decade. That, paired with compressed timelines, makes M&A both the most likely exit path and one that’s emerging sooner than teams may expect.

That doesn’t mean founders should optimize for a quick sale. But it does mean they should be prepared to handle real opportunities when they surface. Preparation preserves leverage and creates space to think clearly rather than react under pressure, and that’s the leverage our Exit ReadinessLab was designed to foster.

Why Readiness Is a Growth Discipline

Exit preparedness is really about fundamentals that strengthen a business, whether a deal materializes or not. Here’s how that discipline shows up

1. Built to be Bought, Not Sold: Companies that are ready signal confidence, and that confidence shows up in how they operate day to day.
2. Clean Houses Sell Faster: Diligence is where momentum dies. Fixing structural leaks early strengthens financial discipline and leadership visibility.
3. Optionality as Insurance: Markets change. Readiness ensures you have choices, and companies with choices make better long-term decisions.
4. The "Leverage" Narrative: You’re not selling a product; you’re articulating value within a broader picture. That focus sharpens positioning with customers, partners, and investors.
5. Data-Room Discipline: Maintaining deal-ready documentation from the start builds internal accountability and operational precision.
6. Understanding Your Value: Knowing where you stand relative to comparable deals sharpens judgment in acquisition discussions and in fundraising.
7. Suitor Vetting: Distinguishing serious buyers from noise saves time, maintains morale, and keeps focus.
8. Team Alignment: Clear incentives and retention planning strengthen alignment during transactions and independent growth.
9. Integration Preparedness: An acquisition changes reporting lines, culture, and decision-making. Clear expectations reduce surprises and create day-to-day clarity.
10. Reverse Engineering Success: Defining an ideal outcome informs smarter hiring, capital allocation, and product decisions today. Success is ultimately what you plan for.