Starting a Business? 20 Steps to Catapult Success
Published: 29 May 2025
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Starting and running a successful business is rarely as easy as it looks. While success stories have become more common with the rise of social media and technology, failure and challenging moments are just as prevalent in the entrepreneurial journey.
As experts, the members of Forbes Business Council know the effort that goes into running a business. Below, 20 of them offer first steps for entrepreneurs seeking to start a successful business, as well as how and why those steps impact success.
12 Tips To Ensure A Smooth Transition In 2025
Published: 23 April 2025
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Exiting a business successfully in 2025 requires careful planning and strategic execution. After working with countless mid-market business owners on their exits over the last 10 years, read more to learn the12 things I recommend you focus on based on my experience.
Corporate Governance For Succession
Published: 12 February 2025
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Corporate governance is a critical aspect of managing any business, but I find its importance is often underestimated in privately owned businesses. Many owners (and some advisers) think it is only for larger businesses; this is simply not true.
What Current Reports Reveal About Business Exits
Published: 18 December 2024
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Through my professional work in exit and succession planning, and supported by recent reports from my company and industry experts, I’ve observed a shift in owner readiness and the potential for value creation.
Designing a Remuneration Strategy to Attract, Retain, and Reward Key People
Published: 31 October 2024
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
In today’s competitive environment, attracting and retaining top talent can be extremely challenging. A well-designed remuneration strategy can be a game-changer.
Business Succession and Exit Planning: Key Areas to Maximize Value
Published: 17 September 2024
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Succession and exit planning are crucial for business owners who want to ensure a smooth transition and maximize the value of their business. A well-structured plan requires careful consideration of your business, your goals and the financial requirements for retirement.
To Drive Business Performance, You Must Understand KPIs
Published: 03 July 2024
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the beacon that guides business owners through the competitive seas of the marketplace. They are quantifiable measures that reflect the critical success factors of an organization and a powerful tool when coupled with benchmarking (essentially when you compare your business metrics to the standards of the industry or top competitors). It’s like having a GPS for business strategy; it shows where you are in relation to where you want to be.
Capitaliz Releases Value Gap Assessment Tool To Identify Business Value And Acceleration Strategies
Published: 13 June 2024
The Value Gap Assessment assists advisors in acquiring new clients and securing planning engagements with both prospective business owners and existing clients who seek services to accelerate the value of their businesses.
Capitaliz, a digital platform for business valuation, succession, and exit planning, has added to its strategic advisory platform with the launch of the Value Gap Assessment. The Value Gap Assessment assists advisors in acquiring new clients and securing planning engagements with both prospective business owners and existing clients who seek services to accelerate the value of their businesses.
Capitaliz Releases Value Gap Assessment Tool To Identify Business Value and Acceleration Strategies
Published: 12 June 2024
Company maintains customer promise to offer effective end-to-end, comprehensive business planning solutions
Denver, June 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Capitaliz, a digital platform for business valuation, succession, and exit planning, today announced its latest addition to its strategic advisory platform, the Value Gap Assessment. The Value Gap Assessment assists advisors in acquiring new clients and securing planning engagements with both prospective business owners and existing clients who seek services to accelerate the value of their businesses.
Building A Significant Company Using Value Acceleration
Published: 04 June 2024
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Value acceleration is a powerful approach to building a successful and significant company. It involves identifying and leveraging your business’s key value drivers to accelerate growth and profitability. By focusing on the factors that truly matter to your customers, employees and stakeholders, you can create a company that delivers exceptional value and stands out in the marketplace.
Small Businesses are Leaving Money on the Table
Published: 1 April 2024
As a small business owner, you’ve worked hard to build your company from the ground up. But have you thought about what will happen to your business when you retire or move on to other ventures? A recent data study from my company, Capitaliz, a business succession and exit planning software platform) illustrates the tremendous amount of value that business owners are leaving on the table opportunity.
The combined value of private businesses in the US nets in around $24.3 Trillion; however, with proper forward planning and preparation, this could be closer to $28 Trillion. Meaning, a total Value Potential Gap of about $3.7 Trillion is left on the table. This translates to an average of 15% of an individual business’s value.
This value gap is substantial and could be life-changing for the owner, their family and the wider economy and community.
Maximizing The Value Of Your Business To Ensure A Successful Exit
Published: 21 February 2024
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Business succession and exit planning involve several critical aspects. Firstly, business owners must aim to maximize the value of their business before exiting, considering the potential risks and opportunities. With my experience helping business owners with succession and exit strategies, I’ve always found financial preparedness for a sale or transition equally essential, along with addressing personal goals, especially given increasing life expectancy.
How to Figure Out What Your Business Is Worth — And Why You Need to Know
Published: 14 February 2024
Although accurately evaluating the dollar value of your business may seem straightforward, it’s a nuanced process. Our expert breaks it down for you.
In today’s dynamic business environment, understanding the numerical value of your business is more than just a point of interest; it’s a strategic necessity. With my background in business succession planning and helping private companies identify and grow their valuations, I recognize the pivotal role that knowing your business’s value plays in achieving sustained success and growth. This knowledge influences critical aspects such as capital raising, exit planning, and strategic initiatives like hiring and product development. It’s imperative for business owners to grasp their business’s value and take steps to enhance it.
Capitaliz Hires Former Business Enterprise Institute CEO to Lead Americas
Published: 7 February 2024
Jared Johnson Joins to Catapult Business Valuation and Succession Planning Fintech into Next Phase of Growth, Ongoing Investment in US Market
Denver, Feb. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Capitaliz, a digital platform for business valuation, succession, and exit planning, today announced Jared Johnson as its President, North America. In this role, Johnson will oversee the company’s operations, strategy, and regional growth as Capitaliz aims to expand its business development and client success teams through advisory relationships.
Capitaliz Rolls Out New Features to Make Client Business Valuations Easier
Published: 14 December 2023
New to the U.S. market, Capitaliz has rolled out a set of valuation tools for advisors working with business-owner clients.
Among the many areas financial advisors find themselves forced to become knowledgeable in is that of business valuations, but to date there have been few technology tools meant specifically to help advisors in working with business-owner clients.
That’s where Capitaliz and its newly launched Dynamic Revaluation feature come in.
Business Owners’ New Year’s Resolution: Turn to Technology for Business Valuation
Published: 5 December 2023
As the global economy continues to face unprecedented challenges, many business owners are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain their operations. This has led to a growing trend of companies prioritizing their exit strategies and focusing on enhancing their business valuations..
100% of business owners will exit their business—whether planned or otherwise–and given that the majority of private businesses are owned by individuals at or approaching retirement age, this is the year for owners to start really thinking about how to best pave the path to exit.
You’re Probably Handling Your Financial Reporting Wrong. Here’s How to Fix It.
Published: 22 November 2023
Today, financial reporting is no longer just a matter of presenting a list of numbers for a business owner to scroll through. As businesses grow and expand, effective financial reporting becomes a crucial element of decision-making. Scorecards and graphics are two powerful tools that can help improve financial reporting and provide a clearer picture of a company’s financial health.
What’s the Problem With Financial Reports?
In fact, I’m an accountant and still find pages and pages on numbers typically presented in financial statements hard to follow, complicated, and also too historical to really guide good decision-making going forward.
Business Insights: What Drives The Value Of Your Business?
Published: 2 November 2023
Dr Craig West is the founder of Capitaliz and has been working with business owners on succession and exit strategies for over 20 years.
Our homes are pretty easy to value. Most owners know the value of their home and comparative data is typically readily available. However, businesses can be hard to value and very difficult to compare. They are complicated assets with multiple factors influencing the valuation, including financial performance, economic trends, industry factors and company-specific risks. In most cases, identifying the key valuation drivers—either positive or negative—is difficult.
Any succession or exit planning process should start with a valuation—an independent business value assessment. In my experience, business owners rarely get the valuation right. They either think the business is worth far more than is realistic or can completely undervalue the asset. If this is the case, it is almost impossible to correctly or accurately design and implement a strategy for succession or exit.
Capitaliz Introduces Podcast Series to Help Private Business Owners Navigate Business Succession Planning
Published: 26 October 2023
Exit Like a Boss Helps Business Owners Extract Value at Exit to Fund Next Venture or Early Retirement
DENVER, CO, USA, October 26, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Capitaliz, a leading digital platform for exit planners to deliver scalable business valuation, succession, and exit planning outcomes, today announced “Exit Like a Boss,” an innovative and informative podcast series designed exclusively for private business owners. Hosted by Capitaliz Founder Dr. Craig West, with over 2 decades of experience and a track record of helping over 800 business owners extract value at exit, this podcast intends to be a go-to resource for small and medium-sized business owners to help scale and prepare for a successful exit strategy.
Craig West of Capitaliz On Five Things You Need To Know If You Want To Build, Scale and Prepare Your Business For a Lucrative Exit
Published: 2 October 2023
As a part of our series about “Five Things You Need To Know If You Want To Build, Scale and Prepare Your Business For a Lucrative Exit, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Craig West.
Dr. Craig West is the Founder and Chairman of Capitaliz, a leading digital platform for exit planners and advisors to deliver scalable business valuation, succession, and exit planning outcomes. As a strategic accountant who has over 20 years of experience advising business owners, Craig has a very strong view that the majority of business owners–and often their advisors–are unprepared and unaware of the steps required to prepare for exit.
Navigating RIA M&A With a Focus on Succession Planning
Published: 12 September 2023
A significant trend is emerging within RIAs—baby boomers, who own a majority of RIA firms, are approaching retirement age. Unfortunately, this is the plumber with the leaky tap—many do not have a business succession and exit plan. This is a critical challenge as most businesses in this market are “key person” dependent (as in, the owner is the rainmaker and the principal advisor).
Predictive analytics tools for SMEs
Published: 15 August 2023
In a time characterised by the reliance on data to guide decisions, enterprises and institutions are continually exploring novel avenues to secure a competitive advantage.
This endeavor has given rise to the advancement and prominence of predictive analytics solutions, fundamentally altering how we comprehend and leverage data. Positioned at the vanguard of this revolution, predictive analytics tools empower us to extract invaluable insights from extensive datasets and predict future patterns with remarkable precision.
Australian startup with Denver HQ raises capital to help founders sell their business
The funds will be used to expand the company’s presence in the Americas and Europe.
Published: 3 August 2023
A digital platform helping founders and businesses plan their exits raised capital this week. The amount is undisclosed.
Capitaliz, an Australian-based startup with a U.S. HQ in Denver, is a tool that determines a privately owned business’s valuation and helps create a roadmap for a successful exit. The platform is primarily built for advisors, including financial planners, lawyers, accountants and registered investment advisors, who assist with mid-market exits..
Capitaliz Closes Funding Round
Published: 3 August 2023
Capitaliz, a Sydney, Australia-based digital platform for exit planners to deliver scalable business valuation, succession, and exit planning outcomes, raised an undisclosed round of funding.
Madison Marcus, a top law firm in Australia, led the round. Eric Boone, lead partner of the Banking & Finance division and the ESG & Sustainability division for Madison Marcus, will join Capitaliz’s board. Madison Marcus has also licensed its ESG data to Capitaliz, allowing the company to repurpose Madison Marcus’ corporate ESG frameworks into its existing valuation framework for mid-market businesses.
Meet Capitaliz – A Digital Platform Built To Help Private Businesses Accelerate Their Value
Published: 20 July 2023
Business owners cannot run their business forever. At some point, 100% of business owners will leave their businesses, whether planned or otherwise. And with more than 10,000 Americans reaching retirement age each day, there are many private business owners that are looking to exit their businesses. Except business owners have limited resources to value their business–it requires a lot of administration and time. Without advice owners are losing the value they created. Capitaliz was founded to help the 83% of business owners that have no written business succession or exit plan and confronts these challenges with a digital solution.
Focus on the “Non-Financials” for Business Clients
Published: 28 June 2023
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Sometimes, it’s less about the growth story and more about managing risk. What are the five non-financial areas advisors can help clients focus on to de-risk their business and better secure funding from lenders?
The 5 Non-Financial Areas Small Businesses Need to Heed to Boost Financials
Published: 27 June 2023
Given the current economic picture with bank failures and bailouts, debt ceilings, inflation concerns and interest rate issues–small and medium sized business owners and their advisors need to think carefully about how they communicate with lenders. Storm clouds are building, so this is a time for umbrellas. Consistent financial performance and a strong growth story used to be enough—not anymore.
Why accountants should prioritize non-financials in business valuations
Published: 27 June 2023
In the current economic landscape, banks are facing various challenges such as debt ceilings, inflation concerns and interest rate issues. As a result, they have become more cautious about selecting attractive loan candidates among small and medium-sized businesses. Merely showcasing consistent financial performance and a strong growth story is no longer sufficient.
These are the 7 Australian Fintech Companies That Will Hit the Stage at Demo Day in November
Published: 26 October 2022
Over the last two years, we’ve introduced you to over 25 Australian fintech startups with the help of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) in New York. This fall, Austrade brings seven market-ready fintech innovators in-person, to scale their businesses in the US. “Seven of the best and brightest Australian Fintech scaleups will be showcased in New York in October,” remarked Rachel Howard, Trade and Investment Commissioner New York. “These companies will participate in an intensive program that will connect them to the dynamic New York fintech scene and help them grow their businesses in the US.”
Capitaliz, a digital platform for financial advisers and accountants that measures value creation for privately-owned businesses and delivers succession planning advice at scale, has appointed Nic Foster as chief executive.
Published: 15 Aug 2022
Foster, the former CEO at Coco Republic, a retail and design brand, has been appointed chief executive officer of Capitaliz. Foster led Coco Republic’s omnichannel growth across Australia, New Zealand and the United States through to a successful capital transaction. He had also held executive leadership positions at Sony Australia and NZ and PlayStation Australia and NZ after commencing his career at PwC.
Succession planning specialist names CEO, director
Published: 15 Aug 2022
Capitaliz makes two senior appointments from retail and banking.
Digital succession planning platform Capitaliz has appointed the former boss of furniture company Coco Republic as chief executive and added a non-executive director who previously worked at Macquarie Bank. Nic Foster began his career at PwC before taking up executive leadership positions at Sony Australia and NZ, and PlayStation Australia and NZ.
Succession and exit planning platform Capitaliz appoints CEO and Non-Exec Director
Published: 12 Aug 2022
Capitaliz, a digital platform for financial advisers and accountants that measures, benchmarks and accelerates value creation for privately-owned businesses while delivering succession planning advice at scale, has announced two high-profile appointments.
Capitaliz announces new CEO
Published: 12 Aug 2022
Capitaliz has announced the appointment of Nic Foster as its new CEO.
Mr Foster will join the succession and exit planning platform — which measures, benchmarks and accelerates value creation for privately owned businesses while delivering succession planning advice at scale — after previously working as CEO for retail and design brand Coco Republic.
Succession and Exit planning platform Capitaliz appoints CEO and Non-Exec Director
Published: 11 Aug 2022
SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, August 11, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Capitaliz, a digital platform that measures, benchmarks and accelerates value creation for privately-owned businesses whilst delivering succession planning advice at scale, has announced two high-profile appointments to support its expansion in North America.
Exit Planning Institute Uncovers $1.413 Billion in Value Potential at Record-Breaking Summit
Published: 21 Jun 2022
The businesses served by attendees at this year’s Exit Planning Summit are currently worth $1.413 billion less than they could be. That was the conclusion from an analysis of the over 450 Certified Exit Planning Professionals (CEPAs) who attended the 2022 Summit.
Capitaliz builds strong international market traction on back of significant demographic trends
Published: 10 Feb 2022
Australasia’s largest succession and exit planning advisory firm, Succession Plus is building its international presence with Capitaliz, a digital tool designed to service the baby-boomer generation seeking to unlock value in their businesses prior to retirement.
Business valuations: Tips, tricks and traps
Accountants Daily | Oct 26, 2021
Business valuation is often described as a dark art. Indeed, get three different valuers to value the same asset and you will likely end up with three very different results. But this doesn’t need to be the case.
Done properly, business valuation uses detailed financial and risk analysis to determine the appropriate valuation for a business. At its core, it’s about determining two key things, the same things needed to value any type of asset: return and risk.
Advisers face ‘notoriously difficult’ challenges in private business valuations
SMSF Adviser | Oct 7, 2021
New analysis has found that the riskiest component for advisers when putting together a client portfolio or retirement plan is valuing a client’s privately owned business, according to a succession planning firm.
Recent research conducted by Australian business succession and exit planning firm Succession Plus revealed a continuing pattern in that it is “notoriously difficult” for privately owned businesses to be valued, as most financial advisers are not qualified or licensed to do so “through no fault of their own”.
Valuing a privately owned business ‘notoriously difficult’ for advisers
Independent Financial Adviser | Oct 6, 2021
New research has found that the riskiest component for advisers when putting together a client portfolio or retirement plan is valuing a client’s privately owned business.
Analysis conducted by Australian business succession and exit planning firm Succession Plus revealed a pattern in that it is “notoriously difficult” for privately owned businesses to be valued, as most financial advisers are not qualified or licensed to do so “through no fault of their own”.
SME valuations hit record high of $1.4 trillion in June with more businesses looking to sell
SmartCompany | Sep 16, 2021
Small and medium business valuations hit a record high of $1.4 trillion in June before the latest wave of COVID-19 lockdowns hit businesses across Australia, fresh data from Australia’s biggest succession planning advisory firm shows.
New research by Succession Plus found the total value of Australian SMEs was $1.437 trillion at the end of June, or an average of $605,079 per business. And wile owners sat on record values for their businesses, many were looking to sell, with listings up 5.86% since the previous quarter.
Australian digital platform launches in North America
Adviser Innovation | Sep 16, 2021
A local digital platform has expanded to North America.
On Thursday, Australasian business succession and exit planning advisory firm, Succession Plus, confirmed the news and said that the Capitaliz platform will help North American advisers “unlock untapped value for small to medium-sized businesses”.
Capitaliz enables automatic businesses automation, benchmarking and value enhancement guidance for advisers to deliver successful exits for their clients.
Australian digital platform launches in North America
Investor Daily | Sep 16, 2021
A local digital platform has expanded to North America.
On Thursday, Australasian business succession and exit planning advisory firm, Succession Plus, confirmed the news and said that the Capitaliz platform will help North American advisers “unlock untapped value for small to medium-sized businesses”.
Capitaliz enables automatic businesses automation, benchmarking and value enhancement guidance for advisers to deliver successful exits for their clients.