PROPREITARY METHODOLOGY
The Options Map.
Five pathways, one accountable lead.
A proprietary methodology that organizes your entire engagement around the paths that are actually open to you — ranked by fit, backed by a valuation, and documented so you can change course without starting over.
The problem with single-path planning
Most exit planning prepares a business for a single outcome — usually a third-party sale. That works right up until it doesn’t. If the buyer market softens, your health or family situation changes, or the deal you assumed falls through, eighteen months of single-path preparation has limited transferable value. The Options Map exists to remove that risk for you and to keep your choices open.
80%
of documentation is pathway-neutral
Financials, intellectual property, operations playbook, customer concentration analysis, governance. That work supports any of the five paths. Pathway-specific pieces are activated only as your primary path requires, and can be swapped if your path changes.
You are never starting from zero.
The five pathways
Every engagement evaluates your business against five viable ownership pathways. Each is scored for feasibility against your specific circumstances.
| 1 | Third-party sale You sell your business to someone outside the company—such as another business, an investor, or an entrepreneur—who takes over ownership so you can exit and receive the value you’ve built. |
| 2 | Management buyout (MBO) You sell your business to your leadership team or key employees who already help run it, allowing you to step away while keeping the company in trusted hands, with the purchase usually paid over time using loans and financing. |
| 3 | An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) You sell your business to your employees through a special trust, allowing them to become owners over time while giving you a way to exit that can provide significant tax advantages. |
| 4 | Family transition You pass your business on to a family member who is ready and willing to lead it, using a plan that helps make the transfer as smooth and tax-efficient as possible. |
| 5 | Hold and grow / partial recapitalization Instead of selling your whole business today, you cash out a portion now, keep running the company, grow its value, and potentially earn an even bigger payday when you eventually sell the rest. |
What the Options Map is
The Options Map is a structured pathway-feasibility analysis delivered as a named report at the conclusion of your diagnostic. It scores each of the five pathways as Feasible, Conditional, or Not Feasible, names a recommended primary pathway and a viable secondary, produces a pathway-calibrated indicative valuation under each, and identifies the specific work required to make either pathway executable.
It is also the report you keep, whether or not you engage us for the full program. The diagnostic delivers value on its own; converting to a full engagement is welcome but not required for the work to have been worth it.
What it is not
It is not a recommendation to pursue all five pathways at once, and it is not a hedging device against the discomfort of choosing. It is a feasibility analysis that surfaces which paths are realistic for your business and you, ranked by fit.
You still choose. The Options Map ensures the choice is informed, defended, and supported by documentation strong enough to execute on more than one option if your first choice hits a deal-breaker.
How scoring works
Each pathway is scored across three possible ratings — so you know exactly where you stand.
| Feasible The pathway is viable given your current business and goals. A defined execution plan exists. | Conditional The pathway becomes viable if specific conditions are met. The Options Map identifies what those conditions are. | Not Feasible The pathway is not viable given current circumstances. This is valuable information — it removes false options from the table. |
Get your Options Map — start with a diagnostic
The $2,500 Compass Diagnostic delivers your Options Map and indicative valuation. It is a standalone deliverable — value delivered whether or not you continue.
The Options Map is a proprietary methodology of Marren Advisory Partners
