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Guest Introduction
Taylor Courtnay is the co-founder of Decision First Technologies, a data and analytics consulting firm in the SAP ecosystem. He and his business partner grew the company organically from two people in August 2001 to over 100 employees before selling to Protiviti — a roughly $1 billion consulting firm owned by Robert Half — at the end of 2015. Under Taylor's leadership, Decision First earned the SAP Partner of the Year award seven times, with consultants publishing books on SAP Press and speaking regularly on the conference circuit. Taylor stayed on at Protiviti as a Managing Director through August 2023.
Summary
In this episode of the Power Exit Podcast, John Marsh sits down with Taylor Courtnay, co-founder of Decision First Technologies, to walk through a real founder exit from the seller's side. Taylor shares how he and his partner grew the company from two people to over 100, then closed a deal that broke the mold for their space — 80% cash and 20% Robert Half stock vesting over four years — with both founders brought on as Managing Directors at Protiviti.
Taylor covers every phase: why selling without a banker failed four or five times, how a talent-first culture built brand equity that showed up at the closing table, and why having clean, instantly accessible business data made due diligence smoother than most buyers expected.
You'll Learn
- Power exit definition: Why a successful exit is more than the number — is the deal right, is it good for your people and clients, and is the timing right
- Brand vs. EBITDA: How being a 7-time SAP Partner of the Year, with consultants on the conference circuit and books on SAP Press, gave Taylor the leverage to push above standard EBITDA multiples
- Running a process: Taking 7–10 inbound calls from qualified suitors in acquisitive years, going to the dance with five to seven, and why never putting a "for sale sign in the yard" still worked
- Advisor value: Why trying to sell without a banker failed four or five times, what their advisor actually did (structured the deal, ran interference with the buyer's M&A team), and why Taylor had zero regrets paying the fee at closing
- Operational readiness: How having clean, instantly accessible business data made due diligence less stressful, reduced the risk of a retrade, and made post-close integration smoother
- Team depth: Building a flat, talent-first culture where investing in people through conference speaking and published work built brand equity that showed up at the closing table
- 90-day prep: Get your house in order, remove surplus cash from the books before revealing financials — buyers will treat it as part of the deal — and bring in an advisor early
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