Imagine selling your business for 9 figures. Would you start imagining what you could do with it all before the deal is done? My guest in this episode not only imagined he started spending it. Only to find that half of it fell through between the letter of intent to the final deal. Alexis Sikorsky shares his journey of building and exiting a software company for a nine-figures. He discusses the challenges he faced during the financial crisis, and the role of private equity in his business growth. We also highlight the differences between lifestyle and growth companies and offer insights into how entrepreneurs can maximize their business value. "From the letter of intent to an actual sale half of the deal fell through" - Alexis Sikorsky   Timestamps 01:45 - An introduction to Alexis 07:48 - From hard times to 9 figure exit 12:27 - How bringing in expert knowledge helped 14:08 - Did Alexis have to get creative with cashflow? 14:36 - The timescale to sell after bringing in the PE firm 17:39 - Alexis on his experience with the PE firm 24:32 - The big issue with pre-negotiations 31:05 - Moving away from a lifestyle business sooner   Connect with Alexis Sikorsky:   LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-sikorsky-consulting/ Website - https://www.asikorsky.com/   Connect With Julie Wilkinson   LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliewilkinson-accounting/ Tik Tok – https://www.tiktok.com/@wasolutions YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUvq6gfNoP_4dfIJulL6C6A Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wilkinsonaccountingsolutions Website - https://wilkinsonaccountingsolutions.co.uk/   Before you go, don’t forget to leave a comment and review if you got something out of this episode!