Confidential owner intelligence
Know what your business is worth before buyers define it.
Get a confidential Exit Score and directional valuation range in about five minutes. No financial uploads. No sales call.
Get a ballpark value in 3 quick questions
Find the page that fits your business
Find your industry's valuation guide
Choose from all 25 industries below. Read about your industry's value drivers and planning considerations before deciding on your next step.
Home & Trade Services
Healthcare Services
Professional & B2B Services
Looking for local reading? Browse the state guides.
Tools and reading
Resources for your next step
Choose an assessment, a planning resource or an explanation. Each is available from its own page.
Quick Scan
Explore owner earnings and a directional value range with a short assessment.
Full Exit Score
Explore readiness, value drivers and next steps for your business.
Exit-readiness checklist (PDF)
Open the checklist and save a copy for your planning.
Add-back workbook
Review the Excel workbook and request your download.
Multiples by industry
Compare the assumptions used in industry valuation guides.
Private equity glossary
Look up the terms used in buyer conversations and deal structures.
Exit Score methodology
Read how the educational estimates and readiness scores are calculated.
Insights library
Browse owner-readiness articles and industry research.
How It Works
Three simple steps. No financials to upload, no obligation, no sales pressure.
Pick your trade
Choose your industry so the Exit Score uses the right methodology and real market multiples for your business.
Answer a short set of questions
No financial statements required. Plain-English, mostly tap-to-answer questions about how your business runs.
Get your Exit Score
See your readiness score 0-100, a directional valuation range, and the top 3 moves that lift your number.
The biggest wave of small-business sales in history is here
Trillions of dollars in privately held businesses are set to change hands as a generation of owners retires. Trade and home-service companies sit at the center of that wave, and private equity is consolidating them fast.
When everyone sells at once, prepared owners win. The ones who know their number years early, and fix what drags it down, walk into negotiations with the leverage. The rest take what they're offered.
In business value expected to transfer this decade
PE buyers are actively consolidating the trades
Owners who prepare early capture the premium
Built around the owner's questions
Exit Lab helps service-business owners explore readiness, understand the inputs behind a directional estimate, and identify questions to investigate.
Owner-focused
Plain-English questions and educational explanations, with the owner in control of the next step.
Data-driven
Industry-specific methodology and real market multiples, not a one-size-fits-all formula.
Confidential
No public listing, no broker fishing expedition. Your information stays private.
Education-first
We give you clarity and a plan. You keep control of the timeline and the decision.
A structured starting point for understanding readiness and the assumptions behind a directional estimate.
Multiples drawn from actual lower-middle-market deal data, tuned to each trade
From the first question to your number, with no financials to upload
Learn before you decide
Plain-English guides on valuation, multiples, and exit-readiness, written for owners, not bankers.
What Private Equity Actually Pays for HVAC Companies in 2026
Real deal data on what PE firms pay for HVAC businesses in 2026: multiples by size, named platforms, recent transactions, and what drives premium valuations.
Read article Valuation GuidesShould I Sell My HVAC Business Now or Wait? A Data-Driven Answer for 2026
Use 2026 market data, PE deal volume, and a practical scoring framework to decide whether now is the right time to sell your HVAC business.
Read article Valuation GuidesSelling Your HVAC Business to Private Equity: What You Need to Know
Private equity firms are actively acquiring HVAC businesses. Here is what PE buyers look for, how deals are structured, and how to prepare.
Read articleKnow your number before you're at the table
Most owners don't know their number until they're already sitting across the table from a buyer. By then, the leverage is gone.
The buyer has done a hundred deals. You've done none. They know exactly what your business is worth and exactly which weaknesses to press on. You're learning the rules of the game in the middle of the most important transaction of your life.
Exit Lab exists to flip that. Know your number years early. Understand what's dragging it down. Fix it on your own timeline. Walk into that conversation as the most prepared person in the room.
Your complete Exit Score, no cost, no catch
Owners pay brokers and appraisers thousands for a sliver of this. You get the whole picture in five minutes.
You control introductions. No obligation. You stay in control.
Questions owners ask us
No fine print games. Here is exactly how this works.
Is the Exit Score really free? +
Yes, completely. There is no cost, no card, and no trial. Owners often pay brokers or appraisers thousands of dollars for a sliver of what the Exit Score gives you. We make it free because most owners are years away from a sale, and we would rather earn your trust early.
Will I get a flood of sales calls? +
No. There is no obligation and no pressure. Your report appears on screen. Exit Lab does not authorize a buyer, advisor, or partner introduction unless you separately approve that specific introduction.
How accurate is the valuation? +
It uses the same method real buyers use: your adjusted earnings multiplied by a market multiple calibrated to your specific industry. It is a directional estimate to guide your planning, not a certified appraisal. A formal valuation requires a professional with access to your full financials.
Do I have to want to sell to use this? +
Not at all. Most owners who run an Exit Score are simply curious or planning a few years out. Knowing your number early is exactly how owners fix what is dragging it down on their own timeline, long before any buyer is involved.
What happens to my information? +
Your results are confidential. We do not sell your data for money or automatically share a scanner submission with a buyer, advisor, or partner. Any introduction requires your separate, specific approval. Our Privacy Policy and Terms explain the details.
How long does it take? +
About five minutes. You answer a short set of questions about your revenue, earnings, recurring work, and how the business runs, and you get your score, a valuation range, and your top moves right away.
Know Your Number Before Your Next Buyer Conversation
It's free, confidential, and takes five minutes. The leverage goes to the owner who's prepared.
Get Your Exit Score