Should You Sell While You’re Still Growing, or Wait for the “Peak”?
Many founders ask some version of this question: “Should I sell now, while the business is still growing, or wait until we’ve hit our maximum size and profitability?”
On paper, waiting for “peak performance” sounds rational. However, very few people recognize the peak while they’re standing on it.
Instead of hunting for a magic formula (X% growth + Y% margin = sell) it’s more useful to understand what buyers value, how the current market is pricing risk, and what other founders have learned about timing over the long arc of their careers.
What Buyers Actually Pay For
Many owners picture their “perfect” exit as happening at maximum size and profitability. “Maximum” is a moving target defined as much by market cycles, competitors, and customer dynamics as by your own metrics.
However, buyers, especially in software, aren’t just paying for where your business is today, they’re underwriting the next several years and decades. For private equity buyers, that may mean the next few years; for buy-and-hold acquirers, it can mean decades.
Buyers want evidence that your best days could still be ahead, not proof that most of the upside is already behind you. A flat or declining curve makes it harder to tell that story, even if your absolute revenue or profit is higher than it was a few years ago.
What the Data Says Right Now: Growth vs. Profitability in Software M&A
The last few years have shaken up the old “growth at all costs” mindset. Higher interest rates and a more selective capital environment mean buyers are pricing risk differently, especially in software.
In the last several years we’ve seen:
- Valuations are up, even if deal volume is down. According to PwC’s 2025 mid-year outlook, global M&A volumes fell 9% in the first half of 2025 versus the same period in 2024, but overall deal value rose 15%.
- Software remains a relative bright spot. Kroll’s Global Software Sector Update from Fall 2025 reports that M&A activity accelerated further in Q3, with year-to-date deal volume already matching all of 2024. The market is on track to exceed last year’s total by 33%, with deal value projected to reach $307.7 billion by year-end—the highest since 2021.
- Software is still about a quarter of global M&A. Iconic projects that technology-related deals account for roughly 25% of 2024 global M&A value, with overall activity expected to reach around $4.7 trillion vs. $3.9 trillion in 2023.
So, what does that mean for a founder of a vertical market software company? Businesses with a mix of steady growth, strong margins, and sticky customers are squarely in favour.
Lessons from Founders: Selling on the Way Up vs. at the Plateau
In our Life After Exit: How Selling Ibcos Created Space for New Passions, Co-Founder Nigel Sargent shares a classic inflection. After decades of building Ibcos, two of the three shareholders were retired or ill, and the company had “hit a technological plateau.” Margins were strong, but meaningful growth headroom felt limited.
He hired an advisor, spent a full year getting contracts, financials, and documentation in order, and then went to market. They ultimately chose Perseus because of its track record in vertical market software and its commitment to long-term stability for staff and customers.
Nigel’s story offers one path: you can sell at (or near) a plateau if:
- The business is still highly defensible
- Margins are healthy
- You prepare thoroughly
- You choose a buyer who can re-ignite growth
Co-Founder Brad Bell’s experience with Campana demonstrates a different strategy. In Life After Exit: How Selling Campana Opened the Door to a New Chapter, he talks about building the company over nearly 30 years of steady growth and success. His partner was ready to retire, and they were concerned about the next chapter of the business given their deep responsibility to their long-tenured staff and customers.
Brad recalls a comment from Perseus co-president Daniel Zinman that shifted his thinking: “Some people are great at starting companies, others at building them, and others at holding onto them… very few can do all three.”
This framing turned their exit from a “finish line” to a baton pass. For Brad, timing his exit was about:
- Matching Campana with an acquirer built for long-term stewardship
- Exiting while the business still had momentum and reputation to protect
- Creating space for his own personal second chapter
In Conclusion
As discussed in Timing Your Sale: Lessons from The Founder’s Dilemma, Noam Wasserman’s research reminds us that most founders wrestle with a fundamental tension: the desire to be Rich—to maximize financial outcomes—and the desire to be King—to retain control.
This tug-of-war often leads to delayed exits, shrinking buyer options, and reactive decisions made under pressure rather than intent.
The reality is rarely neat, few founders sell “too early” in a way that harms their business. Far more hold on a little too long and only recognize it once the window has quietly started to close.
Knowing when to sell is having the ability to see the curve clearly and having the courage to act before time makes the decision for you.
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