Why 80% of Businesses Never Sell - Adam Koós on the Grow Your Business and Grow Your Wealth Podcast

In this special episode share, Adam Koós, joins Gary Heldt as a guest on the Grow Your Business and Grow Your Wealth Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on fiduciary responsibility, business exit planning, and the hidden risks business owners face when they wait too long to plan.

Adam shares his personal journey from pre-med to finance, why he launched Libertas at age 25, and how his mission evolved into helping business owners protect and eventually monetize their life’s work. Together, Gary and Adam explore why 80% of business owners’ net worth is tied to their company — yet 80% of businesses never sell, dissolving instead.

This episode offers a candid, educational look at the realities of exit planning, advisor incentives, and what business owners should be thinking about years before a sale — straight from a conversation where Adam is on the other side of the mic.

 

Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Adam’s background and early career influences
02:00 – From pre-med to finance and founding Libertas Wealth
04:00 – Why Adam is passionate about saving people from bad advice
07:00 – What “fiduciary” really means (and what it doesn’t)
09:00 – How commissions create hidden conflicts of interest
12:00 – Fee structures, hedge funds, and incentive problems
16:00 – Tax-efficient strategies and DSTs explained
18:00 – Why most business owners wait too long to plan their exit
20:00 – The reality behind the 80% failure-to-sell statistic
22:00 – What real exit planning involves
24:00 – Why buyers don’t want to “buy a job”
26:00 – Adam’s advice to business owners in their 50s

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Key Takeaways

💡 Adam is interviewed as a guest on another podcast, sharing his exit-planning perspective
💡 Exit planning must begin years before a sale — not months
💡 Fiduciary status matters more than most people realize
💡 Conflicts of interest are often built into compensation models
💡 Business value is created intentionally, not accidentally

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Key Quotes from Adam Koós

🗣 “If you’re not a fiduciary all the time, you’re not a fiduciary.”
🗣 “You can’t wait until you’re ready to sell to start planning to sell.”
🗣 “Most business owners don’t fail — they just wait too long.”
🗣 “Buyers don’t want to buy a job. They want to buy a business.”

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About This Episode Share

This episode features Adam Koós appearing as a guest on The Grow Your Business and Grow Your Wealth Podcast. We’re sharing it here with the Elevate community because the conversation directly aligns with our mission: helping business owners build stronger, more valuable, and more transferable businesses.

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Connect with Adam Koós

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos
Libertas Wealth: https://www.libertaswealth.com

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Connect with Elevate

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