My $70M Exit Collapsed Days Before Signing

Moneywise

Hampton

Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing

4.8 • 674 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

127 founders (net worth: ~$1M–$100M+) opened up their personal books. Want to see how your finances stack up? https://www.joinhampton.com/wealth-report

Adam Robinson was days away from a $70M exit… then the buyer walked. But the deal collapsing turned out to be a blessing.

Here’s what we talk about:

His current company now does $25M ARR with $1M monthly profit.
He accidentally spent millions before the deal closed on land, crypto, and a new mortgage.
Then came a surprise 60% tax bill, thanks to a little-known IRS rule.
Adam explains why high income doesn’t equal peace of mind.
He shares how Wall Street shaped his risky money habits.
His spending: $750K/year, two kids, boat, Aspen trips, wellness lifestyle.
He admits he wasn’t ready for a big exit and still might not be.
Now, he’s focused on structure, restraint, and building wealth slowly.
And why cash flow feels better than a windfall… at least when you’re winning.

Cool Links:

Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/

Chapters:
(00:00) The Big Exit That Never Happened
(00:54) Adam's Financial Resilience
(02:25) From Wall Street to Startups
(06:59) The Startup Struggles
(10:31) The Almost Sale and Its Aftermath
(12:35) Crypto Craze and Financial Lessons
(15:13) Rebounding and Learning from Mistakes
(19:21) The Genius Trade of the Century
(22:38) Financial Anxiety and Business Risks
(25:26) Tax Surprises and Financial Planning
(29:27) Spending Habits and Lifestyle Choices
(36:28) Balancing Wealth Building and Lifestyle
(37:14) Conclusion: The Exit That Wasn't

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Harry Morton

Founder of Lower Street, a podcast production company helping brands launch and grow top-tier podcasts.
Co-parents a cow named Eliza.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Adam Robinson was supposed to have the exit of a lifetime.
0:06.0	35 million up front and a $35 million potential earn out.
0:10.0	But the night before it was supposed to be official...
0:13.0	He walked.
0:14.0	For founders in the exit period, that is a worst-case scenario.
0:17.0	Unless it's not.
0:20.0	Because in Adam's story, it was a blessing in disguise, and not
0:23.3	just because of the growing valuation of the company, though that helps obviously. This
0:27.9	is the story of why Adam is grateful for what at the time felt like a complete nightmare,
0:32.8	and what all founders need to know before the allure of the big exit carries them away. I'm Harry Morton and this
0:38.9	is Money Wise. We're not here to tell you how to get rich. This is a show about what happens next.
0:43.7	It was made for the Hampton community, which is the ultimate resource for founders pre or post
0:47.6	exit. So you can learn more about that at joinhampton.com. But let's get right to it.
0:54.8	I'll start by addressing right away that even with that blow, Adam's finances are just
0:58.6	fine.
0:59.4	I started another business a year ago that, like, is the same product that we sell
1:03.0	e-commerce, but for B-to-B, it's called R-B-to-B.
1:05.4	So if you add those two up, it's 25 million ARR.
1:10.4	And at that point, I was talking to that guy, it was 8 million. So it's,
1:13.1	it's tripled, you know. We only had six people at that time. We have 40 full-time employees now,
1:18.7	but that's not really a lot for a 25 million ARR company. Like, not at all. Typically, it's like
1:24.1	150 people they have at this point. We have no funding.
	...

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