Looking For An Exit? Five Mistakes To Avoid

Over the years of guiding companies through exits—from scrappy startups to established tech giants—I've watched too many brilliant founders torpedo their own valuations with mistakes that could have been avoided with proper planning.

The stakes couldn't be higher. Bain & Company recently found investments and exits are "up 37% and 34% respectively," but for companies that managed to close last year, more than a third had been on that road for over two years. Only 21 exits last year exceeded $1 billion in value, with large, return-generating exits far more scarce than smaller deals.

The fact is, many founders are making the same preventable errors that can cost them millions in valuation and, in some cases, jeopardize the entire deal. Here are the five most damaging mistakes to see and how you can avoid them.