INTERVIEW | Make Money Cashing Out: How to Engineer a $100M+ Private Equity Exit with Alexis Sikorsky

Alexis Sikorsky is a strategic advisor to founders who want to scale fast and exit strong, after building and selling his Switzerland-based banking software company, New Access, in a private equity deal worth over $100M. Drawing on decades of hard-won experience (including painful early failures, a 75% revenue collapse in one day, and a long post-crisis grind), he now helps £5–20M+ revenue businesses design exits instead of hoping for them. In his book Cashing Out: The Business Owner’s Guide to Selling to Private Equity, Alexis introduces the APEX methodology, a practical roadmap for founders who want clarity, cashflow, and a life-changing deal beyond their business.

On this episode we talk about:

• Why Alexis calls his early ventures “failures” and how those lessons funded a $100M+ win later

• The 2008 financial crisis, losing 75% of revenue in a day, and rebuilding New Access without pivoting

• His grandfather’s trade wisdom and the simple “sell higher than you buy” rule most founders ignore

• Why raising VC money is usually a sign of commercial failure, not success

• The APEX methodology for planning and executing a private equity exit (from assessment to “dressing the bride”)

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Failure is the tuition you pay for wisdom: Alexis estimates the “cost” of his mistakes at 50 million and five years, and he uses that lens to help founders avoid repeating them.

2. Profit is not optional if you want optionality: you must build a business where costs stay below revenue, instead of relying on endless fundraising to plug operational holes.

3. A premium exit is engineered, not accidental: knowing your goal (lifestyle vs. exit, 100M vs. 1B), tracking real-time numbers, protecting your USP, and becoming “private equity ready” 18–24 months ahead are non-negotiable.

Notable Quotes

• “I have a 100% success-rate, no-failure strategy: just don’t try anything.”

• “Raising money is very often a commercial failure—your company isn’t good enough yet to be profitable.”

• “We’re not wealthy enough to buy cheap. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it—but don’t buy the cheap version either.”

Connect with Alexis Sikorsky:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-sikorsky-consulting

• Website / Book: https://www.asikorsky.com/my-book (Cashing Out: The Business Owner’s Guide to Selling to Private Equity)

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