Founder/Owner Advocacy

Founder Advocacy™ in M&A — The Accretive Difference Redefining How Founders Win in M&A

At Accretive, we reject the status quo of buy-side–dominated M&A. We believe Founders and Owners deserve more than speed-to-close, they deserve readiness-to-earn.

Our Founder Advocacy™ model was created to rebalance the system, giving entrepreneurs the insight, structure, and confidence to define, prepare, and protect the value they’ve built.

The Problem: The Status Quo Works Against You

In traditional M&A, founders are told to “trust the process.” That process is built for buyers, not for you.

78% of deals fail to deliver the intended value.
Sellers are blamed for delays, information gaps, and valuation erosion.
“Expert” advisors often reinforce the same system that disadvantages you.

You built the business. You should define how it’s valued, sold, and structured.
Accretive exists to make sure you do.

The Solution: Founder Advocacy™ in M&A

Founder Advocacy™ is Accretive’s readiness-first operating system designed to empower Founders to drive the process, not react to it.

What Founder Advocacy™ Means

Readiness Before Reach: Build strength, documentation, and proof before you go to market.
Education + Empowerment: We teach you the rules of the game so you can play to win.
Protection of Legacy: Your goals, people, and purpose stay at the center of every decision.
Confidence Through Clarity: You’ll know your valuation, your leverage points, and your red flags — before buyers do.

Result: Founders who engage accretive enter the market “buyer-ready” — confident, informed, and positioned for premium outcomes.

The Accretive Operating System

Every engagement follows a disciplined, data-driven approach:

Diagnose with Decision Intelligence™

Quantitative readiness assessment across financial, operational, legal, and cultural dimensions.

Prepare via Exit Readiness™

A proprietary 5×5 rubric covering five domains and twenty-five criteria, scored to 100.
Threshold ≥ 75 qualifies for the Accretive-Sourced Deal™ badge — a buyer-recognized signal of quality.

Signal and Execute

Once certified, your business enters the market with a complete, buyer-grade dossier — elevating confidence, compressing diligence time, and commanding premium terms.

From Readiness to Premium

Each readiness domain drives measurable value:

Financial clarity → valuation lift
Process maturity → reduced risk premium
Governance & compliance → faster diligence
People & leadership continuity → smoother transition
Strategic storytelling → stronger buyer competition

These levers combine to expand multiples, improve terms, and increase certainty to close.

Why Accretive Is Different

Founder-First, Not Fee-First: We work for Founders — not buyers or bankers.
Decision Intelligence™, Not Guesswork: Proprietary analytics guide every step of readiness and valuation.
The Accretive-Sourced Standard: Our deals are recognized by buyers as best-in-class — proven, documented, de-risked.
Beyond the Transaction: We support you through preparation, execution, and integration to preserve what you’ve built.

Our mission is simple: eliminate the asymmetry of M&A by equipping founders to define and defend their own value.

Proof in Action

Case Snapshot
Manufacturing (US$65M Exit)

Readiness Score: 56 → 82 in 180 days.
Concentration risk mitigated, SOPs codified, buyer pool expanded.

Result: 14% valuation lift and faster diligence close.

Case Snapshot
Healthcare (US$42M Exit)

Readiness Score: 61 → 86 in 210 days.
Governance strengthened, compliance gaps closed, contracts standardized.

Result: 18% increase in final offer value and improved deal terms.

Your Journey with Accretive

Discover: Take the 10-minute Exit Readiness Assessment.
Diagnose: Receive your custom Readiness Score and 3–5 Lever Plan.
Prepare: Partner with our Founder Advocacy™ team to strengthen your business.
Signal: Earn the Accretive-Sourced Deal™ certification.
Succeed: Go to market positioned for a premium outcome — on your terms.

Define. Prepare. Protect.

You’ve built something extraordinary. Now it’s time to protect it — and to earn what it’s truly worth.
Accretive helps founders not just sell their companies, but win their exits.

Schedule a Founder Briefing to learn how Founder Advocacy™ can help you command your premium outcome.