Know the Deal. Episode 10

David Wasilewski is a business architect who helps founders build businesses that create more value, grow more predictably, and maximize long-term business value. He began his entrepreneurial career helping launch Spanx alongside Sara Blakely, serving as COO and CFO as the company grew from a startup to more than $1 billion in enterprise value. He later led several high-growth consumer brands, including as president of Privé Revaux, the celebrity-founded eyewear company co-founded by Jamie Foxx, where he helped lead the company’s sale to Safilo. Wasilewski joins Katya Fisher and John Lindsey to talk about why founders get exhausted once a business reaches eight figures, and why that is a design problem, not a personal failure. They cover how a founder’s idea has to become something a team can run, what to look for before hiring a COO, and why advice always carries the experience of the person giving it. He also explains what makes a company worth more at exit and when a strategic buyer will overpay.