Why Most Founders Delay a Private Equity Exit by 5 Years

2026-01-20

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Send us a textThere’s a moment every scaled founder hits where effort stops producing leverage. Revenue is real. The team is capable. But progress feels heavier than it should, and decisions take longer, cost more, and drain energy faster than before.In this episode, I sit down with Alexis Sikorsky, a strategic advisor to founders who are serious about scaling fast and exiting strong. Alexis isn’t sharing theory. He built, scaled, and sold a Switzerland-based software company in a nine-figure private equity exit, then stayed in the game lon...

Send us a text

There’s a moment every scaled founder hits where effort stops producing leverage. Revenue is real. The team is capable. But progress feels heavier than it should, and decisions take longer, cost more, and drain energy faster than before.

In this episode, I sit down with Alexis Sikorsky, a strategic advisor to founders who are serious about scaling fast and exiting strong. Alexis isn’t sharing theory. He built, scaled, and sold a Switzerland-based software company in a nine-figure private equity exit, then stayed in the game long enough to see exactly what founders misunderstand about timing, systems, and value creation.

We talk candidly about why founders delay a Private Equity Exit by years: not because they lack ambition, but because exhaustion, missing numbers, and underpowered leadership structures quietly cap momentum. Alexis breaks down the mistakes that cost him five years and $50 million, what private equity actually looks for, and how founders can shift from running hard to engineering optionality.

If you’re scaling a digital agency past 7 figures and thinking about sustainability, leverage, automation in leadership, or what an exit really requires, this conversation will sharpen how you see your business and your next move.

Books Mentioned

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
The Art of War by Sun Tzu

If you want to stay connected with Alexis, find him on LinkedIn or check out his book Cashing Out, where he lays out the APEX framework for founders preparing for private equity. He’s also inviting founders doing $5–15M in revenue to participate in interviews for his upcoming book; details shared directly in this episode.

Join Dr. William Attaway on the Catalytic Leadership podcast as he shares transformative insights to help high-performance entrepreneurs and agency owners achieve Clear-Minded Focus, Calm Control, and Confidence.

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