Great Exit Wave Is Coming — Most Founders Aren't Ready
A third of global entrepreneurs are heading for the exits within five years. Most haven't built the wealth architecture, tax strategy, or psychological infrastructure to handle what comes next.
Entrepreneur, Operator, Investor. 20+ years building businesses across the UK, Europe, China, and emerging markets. Now a Partner at a wealth management firm. Playing RPG Life, sharing what I learn.
A third of global entrepreneurs are heading for the exits within five years. Most haven't built the wealth architecture, tax strategy, or psychological infrastructure to handle what comes next.
Most founders deploy heavily into private markets after exit — then discover they have no good way to access cash when they need it. NAV financing lets you borrow against the combined value of your private portfolio without selling anything.
Founders who bootstrapped hate debt. But strategic borrowing is how wealthy families build faster and more tax-efficiently. Here's how to think about using debt for wealth building — without becoming the cautionary tale.
AI wiped $1 trillion off software stocks in February. Now it's repricing the loans underneath them. JPMorgan's markdown of software credit is a signal founders with private market allocations can't ignore.
Family offices doubled their private credit holdings in one year. Then the redemption gates started closing. What this asset class actually is, why it's being stress-tested right now, and how to evaluate it with clear eyes.
Fintech funding jumped 21% while deal count hit an eight-year low. The IPO pipeline is deep, but only nine have priced in 2026. Tender offers are replacing traditional exits. Every path to founder liquidity just got narrower.
Blue Owl's redemption halt exposed private credit's SaaS problem. Secondaries hit $240 billion. McKinsey declared the PE playbook dead. California's wealth tax moved forward. Four stories reshaping how founders think about private capital.
Three wealth management deals worth $17 billion. Private credit secondaries doubled. JP Morgan confirms 86% of family offices have no succession plan. The infrastructure behind founder wealth is being rebuilt.
After exit, founders face the "now what?" question with no roadmap. Here are six paths others have taken, from angel investing to stepping back entirely, and a framework for finding yours.
The IPO window is open but investors aren't paying what founders expect. Tender offers are replacing exits as the default liquidity tool, AI just repriced what wealth management costs and private credit spreads are compressing.
How sophisticated allocators are evaluating a $44 billion market that's either the next asset class or the next regulatory casualty.
Eight companies raised $100M+ each in New York this week. Meanwhile, software stocks dropped 25%. For founders weighing exit timing, both signals matter.