Sale-Ready / Mayfly × Lynchpin Network

Build on what works.Prepare for a successful sale.

When you sell, buyers look closely at how much of the business depends on you. Sale-Ready makes your know-how and leadership transferable, so the business holds its value whether you sell outright, keep a stake or hand over in stages.

Book a free StratLab Check your business →
Mayfly VenturesCaptures your know-how in software the business owns.
Lynchpin NetworkAdvises owners and boards on commercial direction, succession and governance, and works alongside leadership teams to test what works day to day.
Why now

Most owners plan to sell. The next step is preparing for the handover.

Many owners plan to exit in the same few years, and many of their businesses still run on them. Buyers see that when they check a business before buying.

48%

of Baby Boomer SME owners plan to exit in the next one to five years.

MYOB and CA ANZ, surveyed Australian Baby Boomer owners and operators
24%

of SME owners have a succession plan.

MYOB Business Monitor, Australian SME owners
54%

of family businesses have no documented succession plan.

KPMG, cited by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman
up to2x

years of earnings (EBITDA) taken off the price when a business depends on its owner, compared with businesses run by a management team.

US deal data (Iconic). Directional for Australia.
Where it breaks

What gets in the way of a sale, and who fixes it.

Your accountant, lawyer and broker handle the deal. Preparing the business for new ownership needs clear responsibility too. Pick an issue to see who does what.

Issue A of 7

The business runs on you

Sales, key clients and decisions all flow through you. Buyers spot this when they check the business, then lower the price, walk away, or tie part of the price to future results.

Mayfly

Turn your decision logic into tools the team uses every day: quoting, pricing, approvals and client playbooks.

Lynchpin

Transfer responsibility in stages and test it in day-to-day operations.

Issue B of 7

A gap between what you need and what it’s worth

What you need for retirement is more than the business is worth today, and many owners find out too late to close the gap.

Mayfly

Turn your expertise into a product the business can sell as a new revenue line.

Lynchpin

Help you and your board weigh which operating improvements and growth opportunities justify investment before handover. Valuation stays with your advisers.

Issue C of 7

Your future role is unclear

Many owners are unsure what their role will be after a sale. Without that clarity, they stall the process, or sell and regret it.

Mayfly

Keep you connected through the product, for example as an adviser or holder of the IP.

Lynchpin

Explore your future role, the options for stepping back and how each would affect the business.

Issue D of 7

The know-how is in your head

Pricing logic, judgement calls and “how we really do it” were never written down, so they can’t be handed over.

Mayfly

Capture your expertise in a knowledge base or internal tool that stays with the business and transfers to the buyer.

Lynchpin

Run the capture sessions with you and set a mentoring plan for successors.

Issue E of 7

Old systems and messy data

Excel, email and paper. Numbers take weeks to pull together, which puts buyers off when they check the business.

Mayfly

Replace fragile spreadsheets and build clean reporting buyers can check.

Lynchpin

Lead the change work so staff actually take up the new systems.

Issue F of 7

No successor or leadership bench

Family may not want the business, and your managers have never been given real authority.

Mayfly

Redesign workflows so roles depend less on any one person.

Lynchpin

Assess the leadership bench and develop the people who will step up.

Issue G of 7

Tax, legal, valuation and the sale

This is the deal itself. It stays with your accountant, lawyer and broker, and we work alongside them.

Mayfly

Out of scope.

Lynchpin

Out of scope.

How it works

Five stages, one joint plan.

You start with a free StratLab. From there, each stage is agreed with you before the next one begins.

01

Joint StratLab

You meet Mayfly and Lynchpin to answer one question: what breaks if you step away tomorrow?

Mayfly
Looks at where operations and expertise depend on you.
Lynchpin
Explores your aspirations, different perspectives, succession options and continuity risks.
Outcome
Lynchpin and Mayfly explore this together before recommending what to investigate, improve or build.
Format
Free · 1 hour
02

Readiness Sprint

A short, fixed-scope look at how much of the business depends on you.

Mayfly
Maps where expertise and operations depend on you, and what is fragile in systems and data.
Lynchpin
Identifies which parts of the business need to run reliably, whichever succession option you choose. Separates improvements worth making now from changes that depend on the future direction.
Outcome
A prioritised roadmap with decisions, responsibilities and next steps.
Format
2 weeks · fixed fee
03

Transfer programme

The build, done in stages so each stage is tested before the next one starts.

Mayfly
Builds and tests the technology.
Lynchpin
Works alongside your leaders and team to help them use it day to day, including changes to responsibilities, decisions and routines.
Outcome
Agreed changes in practice, reviewed and adjusted as the direction becomes clearer.
Format
Staged
04

Optional upside

As succession progresses, both firms explore whether your know-how could become a product customers would buy.

Mayfly
Builds and tests the product.
Lynchpin
Helps you assess whether selling and supporting it fits your ambitions, who would run it and how it could carry through succession.
Outcome
A tested view of a new revenue opportunity.
Format
Where it fits
05

Handover support

Lighter support while the sale or family transfer goes through.

Mayfly
Keeps the tools running and supports the new owner after the deal.
Lynchpin
Helps outgoing and incoming leadership agree how the business will operate from day one: who takes responsibility, what needs oversight and how open issues are handled. Supports your team through the transition.
Outcome
A smoother transition for your staff, clients and the new owner.
Format
Through the sale
Owner check

What breaks if you step away tomorrow?

Six questions about your business. It takes about two minutes. It gives you a place to start. It does not value the business.

Question 01 of 06Who holds your key client relationships?
Question 02 of 06If you took four weeks off, would quotes and pricing decisions still get made?
Question 03 of 06Where does “how we really do it” live?
Question 04 of 06How long does it take to pull together last quarter’s numbers?
Question 05 of 06Is there someone ready to step up?
Question 06 of 06When are you looking to sell or hand over?
Worked example

Five B answers, handover within 12 months

01 B02 B03 B04 B05 B06 A
Score 5 of 10 · Partly transferable

Managers share key relationships and some know-how is documented. Some decisions still return to the owner and a potential successor needs support.

Lynchpin works alongside the owner's existing advisers on the transition.

Who it suits

Is this right for your business?

The work takes time. It suits owners with a few years before a sale and a team to build around.

10+ staff

Enough of a team for knowledge and decisions to move to.

$10M+ revenue

A business with operational know-how worth capturing.

2 to 5 years out

From a sale or family transfer. Under 12 months is too late for a build.

If your business is smaller, your broker or adviser may be the better first call. Tax, legal, valuation and the sale itself stay with your existing advisers. Not sure where you sit? Check your business →

Selling within 12 months

Lynchpin can still help with the handover.

Lynchpin works with owners in the 12 months before a sale or handover, alongside your existing advisers, on the people and leadership side.

Talk to Lynchpin about your transition
Our partner

Lynchpin Network leads the people side of succession.

Commercial advisory for owners, boards and leadership teams preparing for succession, sale or a change in how the business is run.

Lynchpin Network Expertise
  • Commercial strategy and owner direction
  • Succession planning and business continuity
  • Board and governance advisory
  • Leadership and adoption through transition

Louise Rutten

Connects your ambitions with commercial priorities, ownership choices and governance.

Dr Desley Lodwick

Works with leaders to bring different perspectives into the open, explore possible ways forward and test how new responsibilities and ways of working hold up in practice.

A short conversation

Let's figure out what we can build together.

Book a free one-hour StratLab with Mayfly and Lynchpin. We'll look at what breaks if you step away, and what to do about it.

hello@mayflyventures.com Write an email