Building to Sell: Scaling, Sacrifice, and Smart Exits with Joshua Gould

Building to Sell: Scaling, Sacrifice, and Smart Exits with Joshua Gould

From The Exit - Presented By Flippa by The Exit - Presented By Flippa

April 6, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

Joshua Gould shares insights on scaling a business and preparing for a successful exit.

Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business, and you’ll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- In this episode of The Exit, we sit down with Joshua Gould, CEO of thebigword, who shares his journey from joining a small family business to scaling it into a $100 million company and ultimately selling a majority stake. Joshua breaks down the realities of bootstrapped growth, the sacrifices required to reinvest every dollar back into the business, and the turning point where he shifted from chasing revenue at all costs to building a company that could actually be sold. We dive into what it really means to “run your business like a private equity firm,” including why most founders leave millions on the table by not preparing early enough, how to think about every expense as a multiple of your eventual exit value, and the critical importance of having the right financial leadership in place. Joshua also shares hard-earned lessons on timing your exit, avoiding common deal mistakes, and why selling…

People in this episode

Guest: Joshua Gould

Topics covered

  • business valuation
  • scaling a business
  • exit strategy
  • entrepreneurship
  • financial leadership

Keywords

  • business worth
  • bootstrapped growth
  • private equity
  • exit timing
  • financial leadership

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: thebigword, Flippa

More episodes of The Exit - Presented By Flippa

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Exit - Presented By Flippa podcast page.