What would my business sell for?
Most small businesses sell for a multiple of their yearly cash flow: profit, plus what you pay yourself, plus one-time costs. In 2025 the average was 2.6 times (BizBuySell), and half of those sales were for $350K or less. Bigger sales went for more: 3.1 times for sales of $1M to $2M (IBBA broker survey, Q2 2026). Where yours lands depends on its size, how much it runs through you, how much revenue repeats and how clean your numbers are. The two-minute estimate gives you a rough range. The Value Sprint sets a real baseline from your books.
How does software change what a buyer pays?
Buyers tend to pay a higher multiple for a business that runs without its owner. Software and AI agents are how you get there. The work moves out of your head and off paper into one system your staff run, the routine work stops needing a person, and the numbers come from that system, so a buyer can trust them. The software doesn't set the multiple by itself. What it produces does.
Is the value baseline an appraisal?
No. It's buyer math: your cash flow times what buyers pay for businesses like yours, adjusted for what we find. We use it to measure the gain. If you need a formal valuation for a sale, a loan or an estate, hire a credentialed appraiser.
Do I have to sell?
No. The same work raises your cash flow every month you own the business, and gets it running without you. On the Partner track, if you haven't sold in five years, an independent appraisal settles my share.
Do you help me sell?
No. I don't find buyers or negotiate sales. That's a business broker's or M&A advisor's job. I build the business they'll sell, and I'm glad to work alongside them.
How does the Partner share work?
You pay 60% of the Build up front. When you sell, I get 10% of the gain above the baseline we fix in dollars when we sign, capped at five times your discount. An illustrative example: on an $80,000 Build, you'd pay $48,000 up front. If the business later sells for $990,000 more than the baseline, my share is $99,000.
What if the value doesn't go up?
On the Partner track, I get nothing beyond the up-front fee. On the Cash track, you paid a fixed price for a system you own. And if the Sprint can't show at least 10 times the Build price in projected value, I'll tell you not to build.
What if my business would have grown anyway?
We can set the baseline to rise 5% a year, so I only share in growth above your own trend.
Do we own the code and accounts?
Yes. Your code, your data and every account sit in your company's name, not mine. That is part of every handoff. If you ever want a different developer, you hand them the keys and they pick up where I left off.
Can a non-technical team really make changes with Claude?
Yes, for the small changes that come up every week, like a new field, a new report or a tweak to a screen. During the Build, the person who will make changes works next to me. That way they learn the system as it grows. At a Houston-area wholesale distributor, the owner made 55 of the 56 changes in the month after handoff, using Claude.
What happens when something breaks?
When something breaks, you text me and I pick it up. If the cause is in my work, there's no invoice. That's the standing warranty, and it has no end date. If the cause is a later change, an outside service or a new feature, it falls under the plan you picked at handoff: On-call, pay per fix or fractional CTO.
What if you disappear?
Your software keeps working. The code and accounts are in your name, the runbook and staff guide explain how it fits together, and your team already makes the everyday changes. Any good developer can pick it up from there.
What do the AI agents run on?
Any model. I set them up so they don't need the largest AI models. That means they can run on smaller open-source models, which cost less to run. If your data is sensitive, or you'd simply prefer it, they can run on your own machines.
What does Claude cost us after handoff?
Your team pays for Claude directly, at Anthropic's published price. It's a monthly plan for each person who makes changes, and the bill goes to you, not through me. I help you pick the right plan during handoff. The AI agents that do routine work are separate. They're set up so they don't need the largest AI models, so they can run on smaller open-source ones or on your own machines. What an agent costs to run depends on what it does.
How do payments work?
The Sprint is paid up front and credited in full if the Build starts within 30 days. The Build is paid 50% to start, 25% at the midpoint and 25% at handoff. On the Partner track it's the same schedule on the reduced price. Ad spend goes straight to Google or Meta, not through me.