Exiting a business isn’t just about closing a deal — it’s about protecting what you’ve built and positioning yourself for what comes next. In this episode, we sit down with Mark Sims of ConsultMSG to break down a smarter approach to business exits — one that prioritizes strategy, timing, and long-term vision over short-term wins.
Together, we unpack the three critical phases of a successful exit — transact, transition, and transform — and how business owners can move from simply selling to intentionally designing their next chapter. Whether you’re preparing for a liquidity event or advising clients through one, this conversation offers a clear blueprint for turning a transaction into lasting freedom, impact, and legacy.
Episode Highlights Here:
Brett
Before jump into this episode, I want to invite you to join our community to help you become a better steward scale to billions and ultimately give more or all of it away. All I want you to do is to click the subscribe button right now. I love your support. It’s incredible to see your comments, and we’re just getting started. I can’t wait to go on this journey with you. Thank you so much for subscribing. It means the world to me. Welcome to the build it to billions podcast where we guide successful entrepreneurs and investors on their journey from millions to billions. And we believe the key to scaling and compounding your wealth and life starts every single day with a mindset and practice of stewardship over ownership and applying billionaire biblical principles. Our ultimate goal is to help you scale and compound your wealth and life so you can give more all the way for MVPs, my name is Brett Swarts. Each and every episode, we’re joined by the world’s top entrepreneurs, millionaires or billionaires, where they share their secrets, wisdom and insights with us, so we can all level up, make a bigger impact in this world and in business. I’m excited about our next guest. He’s out of Ohio, and he is a PE advisory CEO CIO CSO and board member, and has over 25 years of leadership across fortune, 1000 corporations and boutique advisory firms. He specializes in driving business transformation, strategy, execution and M&A excellence. And his journey spans his roles as CEO CIO and strategy leader, and what he loves to do is consistently bring clarity to complex challenges and achieve impactful outcomes and so much more. Please, welcome to the show with me. Mr. Mark Sims. Mark, how we doing today?
Mark
I’m doing great. Brett, how are you doing?
Brett
Doing well. Thank you so much. And for our listeners, get tonight for the first time, would you give us just a little bit more about your story and your story and your current focus?
Mark
Sure. No, absolutely. Yeah. So, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, lifelong Cleveland sports fan. So, you know, I’m a loyal guy. Haven’t put up with so much misery over my lifetime. Kind of, from a career perspective, spent first half of my career in management consulting, working for large, big five as well as boutique consulting firms, mainly driving transformations in Fortune,1000 companies, or at the time, what was called re-engineering, right? So, remember that that whole phase, but that really gave me a great both process, system and appreciation for the for the people, side of transformation, and having to manage that well, ended up going second half of my career. Went to work for one of my clients, Scott’s Miracle Grow, the lawn and garden manufacturer. Had a bunch of different roles there, from digital transformation as the Chief Information Officer. I was the head of strategy and M&A, so really kind of got a broad, general background of that business and helped drive the growth there. Eventually went to work for as the CEO of one of their companies they had invested in. Left that, and then I joined, went back into the consulting realm, and so now I’m with a firm called consult MSG, where we mainly work with, you know, both private and private equity sponsored businesses to help them, you know, grow and transform
Brett
Excellent. Mark sends everybody. If you want to learn more about what Mark’s doing, or where he’s at, you go to consult msg.com consult msg.com today we’re speaking about building a 3t m and a playbook, and I’m excited to dive right in. So Mark, what is the number one secret to building a 3t m and a playbook? And maybe just talk about the first T to start, and we’ll and then we’ll work our way down.
Mark
Sure, yeah, so the first T is transacted, right? So, we support businesses both on the sell side, so companies that are looking to sell themselves and or on the buy side, people that are looking to acquire a company or a set of companies. And really, there’s, there’s, obviously, you know, a lot of steps to the transaction and for the from the deal process. But we really help, you know. And again, I think people should be thinking about, how do they think through the lens of the financials? How do they think through the lens of, you know, what are the systems and capabilities that that business has? And then what are the people, what’s the human capital that you’re going to acquire with this business? And I think that’s, you know, kind of a key aspect is really thinking about each of those entities or each of those aspects or facets from a value creation perspective as well as a value preservation perspective.
Brett
Okay, excellent, so people buying and selling businesses, right? And the entire A to Z process and financials and underwriting and actual execution of that. That’s the first tee What have you found in today’s market to get deals done on the transit so if you like this little, short clip of the interview I just did, click over here to watch the full interview, and please don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks so much, everybody
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About Mark Sims
Mark Sims serves as Managing Principal of Technology Solutions, bringing more than 25 years of experience across strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and information technology. He specializes in leading large-scale transformation and growth initiatives, with a strong track record in ERP implementations, system optimization, advanced analytics, and navigating complex M&A transactions within dynamic business environments.
Throughout his career, Mark has held executive leadership roles including CEO, Head of Strategy, and CIO across a range of industries such as consumer products, retail, specialty packaging, manufacturing, and private equity. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan and Cleveland State University, respectively, and further advanced his leadership training through the Advanced Management Program at The Wharton School.
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