Apogee by Small Pond Software
Sell your business at its high point
Apogee gets your business out of your head and into a system, so it sells for more, keeps its team, and keeps running after you step away.
Your team stays, and grows
A business that runs without you runs on your people. Apogee is built to keep them.
- Their knowledge gets credit. Writing down what they know makes them more valuable to any buyer.
- AI takes the busywork. Typing, chasing documents and first drafts go to the software. Your people keep the judgment and the client relationships.
- There's a path up. We help you identify and develop the person who could run the business day to day.
- Honest conversations. We help you decide what to commit to your team, and when to tell them.
Who Apogee is for
Owners of established businesses with $500K–$3M in revenue who want to sell or step back in the next one to five years.
Your client data stays private. When it's sensitive, the AI runs on hardware in your office, not in the cloud.
Good fits include
- Insurance agencies
- Property management firms
- Distributors and job shops
- Home service and trades businesses
- Bookkeeping and medical billing firms
Buyers pay less for businesses that need their owner
When the business depends on you, buyers see risk and price it in. Discounts of 15–25% are common, and some deals stall or fall apart in diligence.
Pricing lives in your head
Buyers can't see how the business really makes money.
Clients are loyal to you
Buyers worry they'll leave when you do, and push for long earn-outs.
Little is written down
Diligence drags, and buyers lose confidence along the way.
How Apogee works
Assess
In two weeks, we find where the business depends on you and what a buyer would worry about.
Capture
We document what you and your team know: clients, pricing, processes and know-how.
Automate
AI tools handle repetitive back-office work, supervised by your staff. Nothing reaches a client without a person's approval.
Hand off
You get diligence-ready documentation and numbers, and a trained successor.
Every phase has a fixed scope and a fixed price. You can stop after any one.
Apogee engagements typically run three to six months. Most programs fall between $15,000 and $40,000, depending on the size of your team and how much of the business still runs through you. Every engagement starts with a paid Apogee Assessment ($2,500), and that fee is credited in full if you continue into the program.
How sellable is your business?
Answer 15 quick questions and see how ready your business is to run without you, scored across the five areas buyers look at.
At the end, you can get your results as a PDF along with a free 12-Month Exit Readiness Plan.
Your answers stay in your browser unless you choose to email yourself the results.
Hi, I'm Patrick
I founded Small Pond Software to help small businesses put AI to work in ways that are practical, private and good for the people who work there.
- Former IBM consultant and project manager on ERP implementations, including SAP, Oracle, Infor and JD Edwards
- Former software engineer at JD Edwards
- PMP-certified for 20 years
- Builds AI tools with private, local models when client data needs to stay in-house
For business brokers and advisors
If a listing is stalling because the business depends on its owner, I can help. I work alongside you on the seller's operations. The deal, the relationship and the commission stay yours.
Talk about a partnership (opens in a new tab)Start with a free call
In 45 minutes we'll talk about your business and when you want to step back. If it's a fit, the next step is a two-week Assessment. You'll know where your business depends on you, what a buyer would worry about, and what to fix first.
Apogee is a service of Small Pond Software, LLC. We don't value businesses or broker sales, and we don't promise a sale price.