Sell Your Business with Icon Exit | M&A Advisory | Icon Business Advisors

SELL-SIDE M&A ADVISORY

Sell the business you built — without leaving value on the table.

Full sell-side M&A for lower middle market owners with $3M–$50M in revenue. PE-grade execution. Operator credibility.

See How Icon Exit Works → Or start a confidential conversation

Icon Exit — Sell-Side M&A Advisory

You built something real. A business that employs people, serves customers, and generates millions in revenue. Now you’re thinking about what comes next — and you need someone in your corner who’s actually been where you are.

Icon Exit is our full-service sell-side M&A advisory for business owners with $3M–$50M in revenue. We handle everything from initial valuation through buyer identification, negotiation, due diligence, and closing. The goal isn’t just to sell your business — it’s to sell it right, to the right buyer, at the right price, on terms that protect what you built.

Last updated: April 2026

Why Icon Exit Is Different

Most M&A advisory firms in the lower middle market fall into one of two camps: business brokers who list your company on a website and hope someone calls, or institutional banks that won’t return your call unless you’re doing $100M in revenue. Icon sits in the gap between those two worlds — and that gap is where most of the value gets left on the table.

Built by an Operator, Not a Banker

Icon was founded by Daniel Askew, a 25-year entrepreneur who’s built, bought, and scaled businesses across multiple industries. When Daniel sits across from you, he’s not reading from a playbook he learned in business school. He’s drawing from decades of operating experience — including the messy, difficult parts that institutional advisors have never lived through.

PE-Grade Execution at the Lower Middle Market

Your business deserves the same quality of advisory work that a $500M company gets. Icon builds institutional-quality valuations, produces PE-grade Confidential Information Memorandums (CIMs), and runs structured buyer processes that create competitive tension. The difference: we do it for companies with $1M–$8M in EBITDA, not $50M+.

We Represent Sellers. Period.

Icon Exit is exclusively sell-side. We don’t represent buyers in the same transaction. We don’t dual-track. Your interests are our only interests. That alignment matters when a buyer’s LOI arrives and every dollar of the purchase price is on the line.

How Icon Exit Works

Phase 1: Discovery & Valuation (Weeks 1–3)

We start with a deep dive into your business — financials, operations, customer concentration, management depth, growth trajectory, and the story your numbers tell. You’ll receive a comprehensive business valuation built on real comparable transaction data, not generic industry multiples.

Phase 2: Go-to-Market Preparation (Weeks 3–6)

This is where Icon earns its fee. We build your CIM — the document that makes buyers write offers. We identify your ideal buyer universe (strategic acquirers, private equity groups, family offices, and individual operators). We craft the narrative that positions your business as the opportunity it actually is.

Phase 3: Controlled Buyer Process (Weeks 6–16)

We run a structured outreach process to qualified buyers, manage NDAs, facilitate management presentations, and create competitive dynamics that drive price. You stay focused on running your business. We handle the process.

Phase 4: Negotiation & Close (Weeks 16–24)

LOI negotiation, due diligence management, purchase agreement review (with your attorney), and closing coordination. Icon is in the room for every call, every document request, and every negotiation point — from LOI through wire transfer.

What’s Included in an Icon Exit Engagement

Comprehensive business valuation using multiple methodologies and real transaction comps
PE-grade Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) that would hold up at Goldman Sachs
Curated buyer universe — strategic, PE, family office, and individual acquirers matched to your business
Structured outreach campaign — targeted, confidential, and designed to create competitive tension
Dedicated deal team — you’ll have a point person from start to close, not a rotating cast
Full negotiation support — LOI terms, purchase price allocation, earnout structures, working capital targets
Due diligence management — we organize the data room, manage buyer requests, and keep the process on track
Closing coordination — working with your attorney, CPA, and the buyer’s team to get the deal done
Private client portal — real-time access to deal status, documents, buyer feedback, and next steps

Pricing

Icon Exit operates on a success-based fee model — our interests are aligned with yours. You pay a modest retainer to initiate the engagement, and the majority of our fee is earned only when your business successfully closes.

Retainer: $10,000–$25,000 (credited against success fee at closing)

Success Fee: Based on total enterprise value — structured on a modified Lehman scale that rewards higher sale prices

Minimum engagement: $3M revenue / $500K EBITDA

Every engagement begins with a free, confidential discovery call. No obligation, no pressure, no pitch. Just a conversation between operators.

Is Icon Exit Right for You?

Icon Exit is designed for business owners who:

Generate $3M–$50M in annual revenue and $500K+ in adjusted EBITDA
Are considering selling within the next 6–24 months
Want a confidential, professionally managed process — not a listing on BizBuySell
Value an advisor who speaks their language because they’ve lived it
Are located in the Southeast or anywhere in the U.S. — Icon serves clients nationally from Nashville

Not ready to sell but want to understand your options? Start with a professional valuation or our Icon Command Sprint to get your business exit-ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to sell a business?

Most lower middle market transactions take 6–12 months from engagement to closing. Well-prepared businesses with clean financials and no red flags can close faster. Businesses with customer concentration, owner dependency, or messy books take longer — and that’s exactly what our discovery phase identifies.

What makes Icon different from a business broker?

Business brokers typically list businesses on marketplace websites and wait for buyers to find them. Icon runs a proactive, targeted buyer process — identifying and approaching specific acquirers who are the best strategic and financial fit for your business. The result is more competitive offers and higher valuations.

Will my employees and customers find out I’m selling?

Confidentiality is foundational to our process. Buyers sign NDAs before receiving any identifying information. We use blind teasers in initial outreach. Your employees, customers, and vendors won’t know your business is on the market unless you choose to tell them.

What if my business isn’t ready to sell yet?

That’s what our Icon Command Sprint is for. A 72-hour intensive that produces a strategic plan, marketing plan, and financial model — giving you a clear roadmap to maximize value before going to market.