The Exit Plan: Mergers and Acquisitions for Creative Entrepreneurs

Barnaby Cook created The Exit Plan to fill a gap that most M&A podcasts miss entirely: the creative industry. The show has 70 episodes focused specifically on buying and selling creative agencies and production companies. Episodes run 23 to 51 minutes and feature interviews with people who have been on both sides of agency transactions. Rated 5.0 on Apple Podcasts from 2 reviews. Recent episodes have covered the mental health impact of selling an agency, navigating the current agency M&A market, tax planning strategies that saved clients over half a million dollars, and the story of a PR firm founder who sold, bought back, and sold again. That last one is the kind of narrative you will not hear on a generalist business podcast. The show understands that creative businesses have unique valuation challenges. Client relationships, talent retention, brand equity, and project pipelines all factor into deal structures differently than they would for a SaaS company or a manufacturing firm. Barnaby asks the right questions because he understands the industry. If you own or operate a creative agency, production company, or marketing firm and have started thinking about what an exit looks like, this is the most relevant podcast you will find. The guests have lived through the specific challenges you are likely to face.