Ep 563 Heath Adams Said No to the Biggest Offer of His Life, Then Doubled It

Ep 563 Heath Adams Said No to the Biggest Offer of His Life, Then Doubled It

Author: John Warrillow September 11, 2026 Duration: 1:12:35

Heath Adams bootstrapped TCM into a company with two revenue lines: hacking into companies' systems to expose vulnerabilities, and selling courses and certifications that trained others to do the same work. He owned every share, raised no outside capital, and never relied on outbound sales. Every lead came through a YouTube channel that grew to more than a million subscribers. 

A competitor then raised $50 million and began matching TCM on price and quality. On the advice of a friend who had sold his own company, Heath started answering the acquisition emails he had been deleting for years. One became a letter of intent for more money than he had ever seen. Half of it was an earnout, so he turned it down, hired a sell side firm, and put the company in front of 300 buyers. Four wrote letters of intent. The one he signed was worth more than double what he had turned down. In this week's episode of Built to Sell Radio, you discover how to 

  • Turn the acquisition emails you've been ignoring into free valuations and a rehearsal for diligence 

  • Tell the difference between the money in an offer and the promise attached to it 

  • Pass on the highest offer and pick the buyer instead 

  • Build a walk away number backwards from the life you want to fund rather than a multiple of earnings 

  • Hold diligence at arm's length so it does not paralyze the company you are selling 


For any entrepreneur, the idea of selling the company they've built is both a daunting prospect and a potential pinnacle of success. Built to Sell Radio, hosted by John Warrillow, steps into that complex space with a clear, practical focus. This isn't about abstract theory; it's a weekly conversation grounded in real experience. Every episode features a different founder who has recently navigated the sale of their business. The discussion goes straight to the heart of the matter: understanding the personal and strategic reasons behind the decision to sell. Listeners get an honest breakdown of what worked, from preparation and valuation to negotiation, and perhaps more importantly, the unforeseen pitfalls and mistakes made along the way. It’s that candid post-mortem, the lessons learned in the trenches of a transaction, that provides unparalleled value. By compiling these firsthand accounts, the podcast builds a comprehensive library of exit strategies and cautionary tales. Tuning in feels like gaining access to a private mastermind, where seasoned entrepreneurs share the unvarnished truth about cashing in their life's work. If you're contemplating your own eventual exit, this series offers the nuanced, peer-to-peer insights you need to think like a buyer, protect your interests, and ultimately, build a business that is truly desirable. Built to Sell Radio serves as an essential guide, transforming the opaque process of selling a business into a clearer, more manageable journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Built to Sell Radio
Podcast Episodes
Ep 523 15 x EBITDA for a Service Firm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:37
In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, John Warrillow sits down with Ujwal Arkalgud, who built the same company twice. Chapter one was a classic problem: a profitable, founder-heavy services firm with impressive EBITDA…
Ep 519 How to Avoid the Unforced Errors That Can Wipe Out Your Equity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:15
Spencer Dennis was an elite golfer whose playing career ended with spine surgery in his teens. He became a tour-level coach, running high-performance programs for juniors, college players, and pros. Managing parents, tra…
Ep 515 Inside the Mind of an Acquirer with Valtech's Randy Woods [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:34
After a 23-year journey building Non-Linear Creations into a marketing giant with more than 120 employees, Randy Woods sold it in 2017 to Valtech. Valtech is a distinguished digital agency offering marketing, digital tec…