{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Build a Business Worth Buying","title":"Working On vs. In: How to Build a Business Someone Else Can Run","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2889,"description":"Most founders assume their exit is something to plan for later — once revenue is strong, EBITDA is clean, or a banker is on retainer. Jo Stapleton, founder of the Exeo ecosystem and host of the Exeo Founders Table Podcast, has spent years working with founder-led companies and has seen the same pattern play out again and again: businesses that look profitable on paper fall apart the moment a buyer starts digging.In this conversation, Jo and Aaron dig into the real reason roughly 80% of small businesses never sell — and it usually isn't the balance sheet. It's founder dependence: the business runs through the owner instead of around them. Jo breaks down how to shift from working \"in\" the business to working \"on\" it, why buyers want a company with room to grow (not a perfect one), how founder culture becomes a liability during a sale, and the practical first steps to building a business that's genuinely transferable — whether that means selling it, handing it to family, or passing it to employees.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/phsiZGVABXNGagv9Pf58BfoPvAl4NAkTvAu1ewlPQvU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8yYmE0/MDQ1Zjg3MDQ4ZmI0/YWEwMTYzNDFjYTNm/MmYyOC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}