Welcome to Dylan
Everyday: 1,000 businesses quietly shut down.
The fact is, when it comes time to exit, owner-operated businesses (representing more than 90% of all businesses in the U.S.) are overlooked and underserved by traditional transition services and buy/sell marketplaces. The transaction costs are too high and the small majority get left behind. They are left with no viable alternative. Shutting down is often the only path available. But that ends now. Now there is hope. Now there is...Dylan!
Dylan is lowering the floor for small business exits and acquisitions. We are on a mission to streamline and normalize succession for owner-operated businesses - helping owners retire on their terms, and helping career seekers discover jobs with a clear path to ownership.
Please join us in the fight to prevent hundreds of thousands of businesses from shutting down every year, and to help an equal number of aspiring entrepreneurs seamlessly step into their dream role of small business ownership.
Who Will Run The Business Next?
The baker is already sweating. Flour hangs in the air like dust in a beam of light. The ovens roar behind him, and he pauses at the front door before flipping the sign to OPEN. Forty years he's owned this shop. He built it on handshakes, loyal customers, and stubborn pride. Business is good - good enough to keep the lights on, pay two assistants, and send his kids through college. Yet every morning the same question slips in with the smell of fresh bread:
Who will do this after me?
He's asked brokers, but they shrug. The shop is "too small to sell". Buyers want turnkey profits and management teams. Banks want collateral he doesn't have. He thinks about trying to hire a manager again, but finding good help he can afford has always been one of his biggest challenges. He needs someone who thinks like a business owner. Someone he can trust when he's not there. So he keeps kneading dough at 4 a.m. and tells himself he'll figure it out next year.
Meanwhile, Across Town
A project manager named Kara slams her laptop shut at 10 p.m. Another late night chasing deadlines that don't matter to her. She craves ownership—something tangible, rooted in a neighborhood. She can manage people, budgets, crises. What she can't manage is a half-million-dollar down payment. She scrolls listings for franchises, sighs at the hidden fees, and goes to bed restless.
When will the rat race end?
The baker and Kara will probably never meet. The gap between them is wide and silent. In the United States, more than 100,000 small businesses close each year even though they're making money. Owners age out, relocate, burn out, or lose a partner. They don't shutter because they aren't viable; they shutter because no one is in place to carry the torch. The neighborhood loses a landmark, employees lose paychecks, and would-be entrepreneurs like Kara settle for jobs that leave them cold.
The Solution: Normalize Succession
If we can normalize succession in America, we can help hundreds of thousands of dreams come true every year. Owners can transition into retirement without shutting down, and career seekers can discover a new path to ownership. Communities can retain more jobs, and entrepreneurship can be made more accessible to all. But first, we must understand two uncomfortable truths that have led so many business owners to shutting down instead of passing the torch:
- Trust Doesn't Come from Numbers. Trust comes from building a relationship, from aligning incentives, and sharing common values and vision. Unlike larger companies - with management teams, clear processes, and data-driven decision making, main-street and owner-operated businesses are people-first and relationship-driven. The owners need someone they can trust to run the business. But finding and hiring the perfect successor is hard. There is no clear place to look. And no clear process for vetting, onboarding, and aligning incentives.
- Transaction Costs Kill Deals Before They Start The traditional buy/sell process works well for larger companies - but it leaves the long tail of owner-operated businesses with no viable path. Brokers, bankers, and lawyers add cost faster than value in small deals. Traditional buy/sell services and business models are transaction oriented and commission focused - adding pressure to a process that is already emotionally challenging. The perceived cost and complexity of selling or getting ready to sell often leads owners to procrastinate until it's too late - and the decision to shut down makes itself.
The Dylan Way: A Simpler Path to Transition
Dylan is designed to make succession straightforward and achievable, turning "what ifs" into actionable plans. We offer a gradual, low-risk journey for small business transitions. Our approach centers on connecting the right owner with the right successor and providing clear frameworks and support for a smooth handover. This gives owners a dignified path to their next chapter and aspiring entrepreneurs a viable route to business ownership. Here's the essence of our method:
Matchmaking: We go beyond resumes and financials to understand the heart of each business and the aspirations of everyone involved. Dylan facilitates connections based on shared values, aligned visions, and compatible goals for the future, ensuring a strong foundation for partnership.
Dealmaking: Dylan demystifies the transition process by normalizing flexible earn-in agreements and providing clear, standardized templates. We make complex deal structures accessible and less intimidating, empowering both owners and successors to forge fair, win-win partnerships.
Trial Period: Before any equity changes hands, our framework allows for a practical trial period where owners and successors can work together. This crucial phase de-risks the decision for both sides, building mutual confidence and ensuring the fit is right before committing long-term.
Your Next Chapter: For owners, this marks a smooth transition into a well-deserved next phase, often as a passive partner, while ensuring their legacy continues. For successors, it's the pivotal step into meaningful ownership and the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey, with potential for growing their stake over time.
That's how Kara lands in the bakery. She got along with the baker and she had the skills and ambition needed to thrive. She shows she can juggle early mornings, staff quirks, and rising ingredient costs. The baker watches margins tick up while taking his first real vacation in ten years. Trust forms in daily details, not slide decks.
Your Part in the Story
Kara presents stronger margins. The baker nods, signs the first 10 percent option grant, and schedules another fishing trip.
For many owners, without a clear alternative, the path of least resistance can unintentionally lead to procrastination and, eventually, closure. But that was before Dylan. Don't be another closure statistic. Use Dylan. Pay it forward. Find someone you can trust, and retire on your terms.
For Owners
Set your future successor up for success.
Get ready at your own pace. Think about your goals and what an ideal outcome would look like for you and the business. Do you want to retain some ownership and collect profits long into retirement? Or do you want a full exit? There's no wrong answer. Start documenting how you work and how your business operates. It's less work than you think: record a video walkthrough of opening procedures, get your logins and passwords organized, jot down the story you tell new hires.
Start meeting potential successors. It's never too early, but it can be too late. Explore what's out there. Meeting and speaking with aspiring successors can help you learn more about what you want and what the business really needs.
Share this article. Chances are you know another owner with a quiet worry about the future. Send it over coffee; open a door.
For Career Seekers
If you can help an owner get what they really want, you should find yourself able to secure what it is that you really want.
List three industries you'd happily live in for a decade. Think about the lifestyle you want to create for yourself and what kind of customers you would love to serve. Succession isn't a quick flip; it's a career path.
Learn how to read a P&L. Prepare yourself for the realities of small business ownership. Understand key financial statements, legal structures like LLCs and S-Corps, and the dynamics of successful partnerships.
When Dreamers Become Doers
Succession should be the norm, not the exception. With Dylan it can be. We're here to make the path clear, but it's up to you to walk it.
Ready? Step forward. Bring a friend. Text Dylan to get started. Or contact us if you have questions.