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Compass Assessment
What is the name of your company?
What is the name of your CEO?
What is the name of your founder?
When was your company founded?
1-5 Years
6-10 Years
11-15 Years
16-20 Years
21 Years +
What is your company's website?
What is your company's industry?
What is your company's primary (responsible for more than 50% of revenue) business model?
Manufacture or assemble products - sell products to resellers
Manufacture or assemble products - sell products to end-users
Resell products purchased from manufacturers - online
Resell products purchased from manufacturers - retail (bricks/mortar)
Resell products purchased from manufacturers with value-added services
Sell outsourced services
Sell professional services
Sell software - recurring revenue (subscription)
Sell software - non-recurring revenue (license model)
Sell financial products (insurance, warranty, leasing, etc)
Other
What was your company's revenue for the most recent full fiscal year (in $M)?
What was your company's net income for the most recent full fiscal year (in $M)? Please enter as either a % of revenue or dollar amount.
What is your company's organizational structure?
Sole Proprietorship
Partnership
LLC
C Corp
S Corp
What is your desired timeline to sell your business?
What is your goal for company valuation at sale?
Which best describes your company's revenue growth over the past 3 years?
Erratic and mostly negative
Flat
Erratic but mostly positive
Consistent, low growth (less than 10%)
Consistent strong growth (10%+)
Which best describes your company's net income growth over the past 3 years?
Erratic and mostly negative
Flat
Erratic but mostly positive
Consistent, low growth (less than 10%)
Consistent strong growth (10%+)
Which best describes your company's financial system?
Based in spreadsheets, no standard practices, no formal system, no formal analysis
Tracking historical financial performance, but only based in spreadsheets
Monitoring historical financial performance, some defined / monitored KPIs, organized financial records and reporting, financial system based outside of spreadsheets
Some use of budgets and forecast models to inform strategies and predict growth, accurate reporting out of formalized system, proactive monitoring of metrics
Consistently using budgets, growth forecast model, and other data to inform strategies, leverage 3rd party to audit financials
Which best describes your most recent year's gross margins?
Less than 20%
20-29%
30-39%
40-49%
50%+
Which of the following elements are currently part of your financial controls? *Check/cash controls (internal systems used to prevent unapproved payments, theft, and fraud), *Bank statement review (the process of examining a bank statement to gain insights into an account's activities) *Vendor list review (periodically checking to ensure that all those submitting invoices are legitimate vendors), *2 or fewer people with bank account access (a method to reduce chances for fraud / abuse)
One
Two
Three
All
Which best describes your company's cash flows?
I have trouble meeting monthly obligations more than 6x per year
I have trouble meeting monthly obligations 5-6x per year
I have trouble meeting monthly obligations 3-4x per year
I have trouble meeting monthly obligations 1-2x per year
I never have trouble meeting monthly obligations
Which best describes your most recent full fiscal year's operating expenses as a % of revenues?
Less than 30%
30-39%
40-49%
50-59%
60%+
Which best describes your most recent full fiscal year's revenues as a % of assets?
0 or Less
0-2%
2.1-4%
4.1-6%
6%+
Which best describes recurring revenue sources at your company?
Little to none, sales are transactional
Some, requires repeat purchases
Contracts of a year or longer
Contracts of a year or longer with penalties
Subscriptions
Which best describes your company's competitive barriers to entry?
We sell a commodity
Our product / service is widely available at competitors (10+ come to mind)
Our product / service can be found at some competitors (fewer than 10 come to mind)
Our product / service can be found at a handful competitors (5 or fewer come to mind)
No one else sells what we sell
Describe how the business owner is involved in revenue generation, directing operations, and strategic decision making.
These are the owners primary responsibility
The owner is directly involved
The owner attends meetings and reviews all progress on these, the owner may be actively involved in some of these and not others at this level
The owner gets involved on an as-needed basis, may be actively involved in only one aspect at this level
The owner is not involved except on the rare occasion
What best describes the company's market share in its key markets?
We control less than 5% of the market
We control 5-10% of the market
We control 11-20% of the market
We control 21-30% of the market
We control 31%+ of the market
How much has your company raised its prices over the past 2 years?
0% or decreased prices
Less than 5%
5% - 10%
11%-15%
More than 15%
What has the impact been to demand with those increases in pricing?
Decreased by 10% or more
Decreased by 0%-9.9%
No Change
Increased by 0%-9.9%
Increased by 10% or more
Which of the following elements are currently part of the business? Right of first refusal: one party has a legal right to acquire the company Environmental hazards: company generates environmental waste Lawsuits/litigation: either issued by the company or another party Company owned in any part by an ESOP
All
3
2
1
None
Which best describes your company's concentration in these 3 categories: customers, sales (revenue is concentrated in a single offering), and suppliers?
Very high (greater than 20% for one customer/offering/supplier or 50% for 2-3 customers/offerings/suppliers) concentration across 2 or more categories
High (greater than 20% for one customer/offering/supplieror 50% for 2-3 customers/offerings/suppliers) concentration for one category
Medium (10%-20% for one customer/offering/supplier or 30%-49% for 2-3 customers/offerings/suppliers) across categories
Medium (10%-20% for one customer/offering/supplier or 30%-49% for 2-3 customers/offerings/suppliers) in one category, low in all others
Low or no concentration in any categories
Which best describes the equity holders of the business?
The owner holds 20% or less of the equity in the business
The owner holds between 21% and 40% of the equity in the business
The owner holds between 41% and 60% of the equity in the business
The owner holds between 61% and 79% of the equity in the business
The owner holds 80% or more of the equity in the business
Which best describes customer loyalty and customer acquisition at the company?
Low customer loyalty (if retention is measured, under 50%), less than 20% of customers repeat purchases, customer acquisition takes over a year and 20% or less of prospects convert
Three of the following are true: Low customer loyalty (if retention is measured, under 50%), less than 20% of customers repeat purchases, customer acquisition takes over a year and 20% or less of prospects convert
Two of the following are true: Low customer loyalty (if retention is measured, under 50%), less than 20% of customers repeat purchases, customer acquisition takes over a year and 20% or less of prospects convert
One of the following are true: Low customer loyalty (if retention is measured, under 50%), less than 20% of customers repeat purchases, customer acquisition takes over a year and 20% or less of prospects convert
None of the following are true: Low customer loyalty (if retention is measured, under 50%), less than 20% of customers repeat purchases, customer acquisition takes over a year and 20% or less of prospects convert
Does the company own any real property used by the business?
Yes, $5M or more
Yes, $2M-$4.9M
Yes, $1-$1.9M
Yes, less than $1M
No
Do you run personal expenses through the business?
Yes, we run personal expenses over $250k per year through the business
Yes, we run personal expenses between $100k and $250k per year through the business
Yes, we run personal expenses between $50k and $100k per year through the business
Yes, we run personal expenses of less than $50k per year through the business
No, we do not run any personal expenses through the business
Do you have contracts with your top 5 suppliers?
No, we do not have contracts with any of our top suppliers
We have contracts with 1 or 2 of our top suppliers
We have contracts with 3 of our top suppliers
We have contracts with 4 of our top suppliers
We have contracts with all 5 of our top suppliers
Which of the following are true about your products or services?
"All of the following: * Product/ service relies on patents that are nearing expiration * Payment occurs after delivery * Development or delivery is customized every time and can't be standardized * Time to develop / deliver product / service is over a year with no known efficiencies"
"Three of the following: * Product/ service relies on patents that are nearing expiration * Payment occurs after delivery * Development or delivery is customized every time and can't be standardized * Time to develop / deliver product / service is over a year with no known efficiencies"
"Two of the following: * Product/ service relies on patents that are nearing expiration * Payment occurs after delivery * Development or delivery is customized every time and can't be standardized * Time to develop / deliver product / service is over a year with no known efficiencies"
"One of the following: * Product/ service relies on patents that are nearing expiration * Payment occurs after delivery * Development or delivery is customized every time and can't be standardized * Time to develop / deliver product / service is over a year with no known efficiencies"
"None of the following: * Product/ service relies on patents that are nearing expiration * Payment occurs after delivery * Development or delivery is customized every time and can't be standardized * Time to develop / deliver product / service is over a year with no known efficiencies"
How many growth initiatives / strategies is the business pursuing in the next year?
12+
10-12
7-9
4-6
1-3
How would you describe the company's ability to expand geographically?
Have never tried to or cannot expand beyond existing metro region operations
Have never tried to or cannot expand beyond existing state operations
Strong regional presence, unsure about ability to expand beyond handful of operating states
Strong domestic presence, believe it is possible to expand anywhere in the US, unsure about internationally
Have expanded both domestically and internationally successfully and don't see any limits
What is the company's approach to outside capital/financing?
Bootstrapped, 0 debt or investor capital
Limited debt / investor capital (less than 10% debt to income ratio or 10% of business equity given to investors)
Some debt / investor capital (11-20% debt to income ratio or 11-20% of business equity given to investors)
Moderate debt / investor capital (21-30% debt to income ratio or 21-10% of business equity given to investors)
Substantial debt / investor capital (31%+ debt to income ratio or 31%+ of business equity given to investors)
How would you describe your company's dependence on new products or services for revenue growth?
80+% of revenue growth must come from new products or services
51-80% of revenue growth must come from new products or services
31-50% of revenue growth must come from new products or services
10-30% of revenue growth must come from new products or services
Less than 10% of revenue growth must come from new products or services
How would you describe the data that informs your growth strategy?
There are no data or KPIs, we have never tried any of these growth tactics before, there is no strategy/plan, we're just going for it
There are some KPIs in place, but no history of success with tactics or formal review process for metrics, inconsistent use of KPIs / metrics
Metrics and KPIs are in place and there is a plan to review them, limited success with one or two growth tactics previously, a fully formed strategic plan exists
Metrics / KPIs are in place and there is a formalized process that the team reviews regularly, a strategy/plan is followed, some success with all growth tactics previously
Strategies are all based on tactics and initaitives that we have previously executed successfully with strong growth results and there are KPIs/metrics and review processes in place to ensure continued success, and a plan that is disseminated throughout the organization is rigorously adhered to
How would you describe your company's alignment around a growth strategy?
Not clear on the need for a committed growth strategy
Company is going many directions as opposed to a committed growth strategy
Company is understanding the need for a credible, singular growth strategy
Company is taking steps toward a credible, singular growth strategy
Company is both clear and aligned on delivering a credible growth strategy
Have you sold a business in the past?
No, have never tried selling a business before
No, I have tried but failed to sell a business
Yes, I have sold one business but for less than I had hoped and it was a challenge
Yes, I have successfully sold one business before
Yes, I have successfully sold multiple businesses before
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