Is Your Business Actually Ready to Sell?
Most business owners believe they are further along in sale readiness than their documents reflect. This audit surfaces the gap — before an investor or buyer does it for you.
Who This Is For
The Sale-Readiness Audit is designed for business owners who are within 6–18 months of an exit, capital raise, or strategic transaction — and want to know where they actually stand.
Considering a Business Sale
You are thinking about selling in the next 1–3 years and want to know what needs to be cleaned up before you engage a broker or enter a process.
Raising Growth Capital
You are approaching investors — private equity, family offices, or strategic partners — and want to know what they will find before they find it.
Facing an Audit or Legal Review
You are dealing with a due diligence request, SBA loan process, or legal event that requires you to produce your corporate and financial records on short notice.
What's Inside
Five structured sections built around the questions every serious buyer or investor will ask within the first 30 days of due diligence.
-
01
Executive Summary
A clear framework for what "sale-ready" actually means — the four questions every buyer asks, and how to answer them with documents rather than explanations.
-
02
Document Inventory Checklist
A complete checklist of corporate, financial, and operational documents — what you need, what to prioritize, and where the gaps most commonly appear. Sorted by category and priority level.
-
03
Common Gaps in Sale-Stage Companies
Eight patterns that consistently appear in due diligence on $2M–$20M businesses — stale operating agreements, revenue concentration, unsigned contracts, IP not assigned to the entity, and more.
-
04
Red Flags to Address Before Entering Any Process
Eight items that do not merely reduce valuation — they can kill a transaction outright or trigger post-closing indemnification claims. Treat these as mandatory remediation.
-
05
Sequenced Remediation Framework
A six-step, 120-day action plan for working through your gaps in the right order — triaging red flags first, then financials, then documents, then systems. With realistic timelines.
About the Author
Gianmarco Macchiaroli
Thirty years of direct operating experience across real estate, consumer goods, food & beverage, and private equity. I have been on both sides of these transactions — as the operator being diligenced and as the investor doing the diligencing. I know exactly what survives a data room and what doesn't.
One of four founding executives at Noodles & Company — building the brand from a single concept to $40M+ in sales, 1,200+ employees, and a successful equity exit. Former CEO of a $50M+ agricultural CPG venture built ground-up. Growth strategy advisor to Jack Link's. Serial entrepreneur across restaurant, franchise, and real estate development.