The Next 100 Days Podcast

Interview with Alexis Sikorsky

Alexis Sikorsky · September 11, 2026

Entrepreneur · Author · Executive Coach · Leadership · Financein

Interview with Alexis Sikorsky

Podcast: The Next 100 Days Podcast

September 11, 2026 · 51 min

Listen to Alexis Sikorsky on The Next 100 Days Podcast.

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Interview with Alexis Sikorsky

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The Next 100 Days Podcast

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Key topicsThe real test of a scale-ready business is whether the founder can disappearA lot of founders say they have a strong team until they imagine leaving for ten days with no phone, no laptop and no internet. That simple test exposes whether the company has real systems or is still running on memory, loyalty and constant founder intervention. Alexis uses this pressure point to show why informal ways of working are normal in the early years, but dangerous once a founder-led business is trying to move through the £5M–£20M stage. Listeners will hear how to spot the gaps in process, decision-making and accountability before those gaps become the reason growth stalls. The best private equity exits are engineered long before a buyer appears Founders often wait until they are ready to sell before asking whether the business is actually sellable, which usually means the weakest parts of the company are exposed when leverage matters most. Alexis learned this firsthand while building and selling New Access through a staged nine-figure private equity exit, where boardroom reality looked very different from the simple exit advice founders often hear online. Through his Cashing Out work and APeX methodology, he shows founders how to Assess the business, Plan the value-improvement work, Execute the operational fixes and prepare for eXit before a buyer is in the room. For £5M–£20M founders, this conversation turns exit planning from a distant ambition into a practical operating discipline. Why £10M companies need C-suite thinking before they can afford C-suite hiresFounders around the £5M–£20M mark often reach a point where the business needs senior finance, operations and commercial discipline, but cannot yet justify a full-time C-suite team. The default is usually to keep too many decisions with the founder, which adds pressure, slows execution and leaves the business exposed when growth becomes more complex. Through Knightscale Partners, Alexis brings experienced senior operators into founder-led companies for focused three-to-six-month interventions, helping them fix gaps, build systems and develop the right internal capability. For founders stuck between hustle and professional management, this conversation shows how to add C-suite thinking before making expensive senior hires. View all topics →

About Alexis Sikorsky

#1 International Bestselling Author and Special Advisor to Founders of £5M–£20M Businesses, Founder Bottleneck and Private Equity Exit Strategist

$100M+ Private equity exit500+ Employees scaled at New Access#1 International bestselling author£5M–£20M Founder businesses advised by revenue

Alexis Sikorsky is a #1 international bestselling author and Special Advisor to founders of privately held £5M–£20M businesses. Through Knightscale Partners, he helps founder-led companies break through the Five Million Plateau, remove founder dependency, build the senior operating layer they are missing, and prepare for scale, recapitalisation or private equity exit.

He moved into this work after founding, scaling and selling New Access, a Switzerland-based private banking software company, through a staged nine-figure private equity exit. That experience showed him the gap between generic online advice and what actually happens in boardrooms when founders are preparing for liquidity, negotiating with investors, or realising the business cannot keep scaling while every major decision still runs through them.

Today, Alexis works with founders at the point where the habits that built the company start to limit the company. A founder can be the biggest asset in the early years, but around the £5M–£20M stage, they can become the bottleneck if the business still relies on their memory, energy, relationships and constant intervention. At Knightscale Partners, Alexis works alongside co-founder Topher Morrison and a roster of experienced senior operators to give founder-led businesses access to the C-suite thinking they need before they are ready to hire a full-time executive team.

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About this episode

Business Scaling & Exit ExpertAlexis Sikorskyhas launched, built and grown businesses. He knows it can be incredibly lonely doing this. Founders can feel swamped, overwhelmed, isolated and unable to make the right decision for what comes next in their business. That's where Alexis comes in. On this podcast you get a taste of what goes on.

Summary of the PodcastKey TakeawaysThe £5-20M Founder Trap: Founders often become a liability at £5-20M revenue, getting stuck in urgent, non-delegable tasks. The solution is to identify and delegate all tasks except those only the founder can do.The "Cashing Out" Philosophy: Build your business for sale, even if you don't intend to sell. This forces efficiency and creates a high-value asset.The APEX Method: A four-step framework for exit readiness: Assess, Plan, Execute, Exit.Retirement Redefined: Post-exit, Alexis chose a "thin of it" advisory role over a high-pressure CEO position, prioritising purpose and family over money.

The Founder's Journey & The £5-20M TrapAlexis Sikorsky, author of "Cashing Out," advises founders on growth and exit.Sweet Spot: Helping founders who are stuck, not early-stage startups.The £5-20M Trap: A founder's skill set can become a liability at this revenue stage.Problem: The founder is swamped by urgent, non-delegable tasks, losing focus on strategic vision.Solution: Identify "uniquely qualified" tasks (e.g., pre-sales meetings) and delegate everything else.Test: A 3-week off-grid vacation reveals critical operational dependencies.

"Cashing Out" Philosophy & Common SenseCore Principle: Build your business for sale to force efficiency and create a high-value asset.Origin: A post-retirement Oxford MBA revealed common founder mistakes.Self-Assessment: Alexis calculated his own past errors cost him $50M and 5 years.Key Lessons:Financial Buffer: Maintain 9 months of burn rate in cash.Why: A 2008 crisis event wiped out 75% of his revenue, nearly causing failure.Know Your Numbers: Track financials daily/weekly.Why: Quarterly reports are too late for corrective action.Know Your Costs: Avoid underpricing complex projects.Hire Managers: Leaders (vision) and managers (execution) are distinct roles. Hire managers early to delegate operational tasks.

The APEX Method for Exit ReadinessA four-step framework for exit readiness:

Assess: Know your company and your personal goals.

"What's your number?" → The amount needed to never work again.Lifestyle vs. Growth: These require different strategies.

Plan: Create a 4-year plan.

Why: Longer plans are unrealistic in a volatile market.Growth Levers: Organic sales, new geographies, new products, and M&A.

Execute: Implement the plan, adapting every 6 months.Exit: Prepare for sale ("dressing the bride").

Focus: Primarily on private equity exits.

Retirement & PurposePost-exit, Alexis retired for 3 years before starting his advisory practice.Motivation: Helping founders, not money.Critical Decision: Declined an offer to return as CEO of his former company.Why: Prioritised family and a balanced life over the high-pressure CEO role.

The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-HostsGraham ArrowsmithGraham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from The UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham also provides an Answer Engine Optimisation solution to get your website in shape to be found by LLMs.

Kevin ApplebyKevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com

Guest: Alexis Sikorsky