Episode
Ep 530 $40M for a Big Fish in a Small Pond
- Podcast
- Built to Sell Radio
- Published
- Jan 23, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3432
- Processing state
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Summary
Nick Telson-Sillett and his co-founder built what you could call "OpenTable for bars and nightclubs" in the UK. Instead of chasing the US (the move most founders are told to make), they went big fish , small pond: dominate their home market first. That focus helped them build DesignMyNight into a business that sold for more than $40M. In this episode of Built to Sell Radio, Nick shares what happened, so you discover how to : Turn one clear customer frustration into a business idea you can explain fast Choose focus over hype when everyone tells you to chase the biggest market Set a "financial freedom" number and use it to make cleaner decisions Run a sale process without tipping off competitors too early Negotiate an earn-out tied to revenue so the targets stay in your control Plan for the morning after the deal, when your identity gets reset