Twelve monthly two-hour sessions with the same peer group, on the same day each month for a full year.
The Exit Factor Mastermind is a twelve-month program for established business owners who want to grow enterprise value, build a sellable business, and get there alongside other owners doing the same work.
Running a business is isolating. You make the biggest decisions alone, and the people around you (your team, your family, your friends) have never sat in your chair. A peer group changes that. For 12 months, you work alongside a handful of owners at your stage, guided by a Certified Exit Factor Consultant and the same proven methodology that underpins The Exit Factor. You bring your real numbers and your real challenges. The group brings perspective, accountability, and the experience of people who have been where you are. You leave each session with one clear next step and a plan for the year.
Monthly Working Sessions
Owners in Your Cohort
Core Phases You Complete
Business Exits Behind the Model
You may be working too many hours, in a business that depends on you, with margins that are good but not great, and a vague plan to sell “in a few years.” When the time finally comes, many owners discover that buyers do not pay for the business they built. They pay for the business that runs without them.
A peer group, sometimes called a mastermind, is a small, consistent group of business owners who meet regularly to work on each other’s businesses. It is not a networking group, a lead-swap, or a lecture. The Exit Factor Mastermind is a structured version of that idea: the same three to eight owners, every month for a year, working through a proven curriculum and giving each other focused input on real decisions.
You sit with a small group of owners at a similar stage, chosen so the mix works and no direct competitors share a group.
Every session follows the same rhythm. An education on one concept, a space where one or two owners get the group’s full attention on a real situation, and a commitment to action and next steps.
A Certified Exit Factor Consultant facilitates every session, keeps the group honest and on time, and checks in with you between sessions. You get the methodology and an experienced guide to make sure this group creates positive change in your business.
The Exit Factor Mastermind runs for 12 months, with one 2-hour session per month, with the same small group throughout. The year follows the five phases of the VORTEx Model™, the framework at the center of Exit Factor, so the work builds in order: first, you decide what you want, then you make the business more profitable, more independent, and more valuable, and finally, you are ready for a transition on your terms.
Vision, exit options, wealth and value gap
TOOL: Value Vision Map™Profit, margin, financial rhythm, KPIs
TOOL: Profit Pulse Plan™Process, org charts, role release, hiring and retention
TOOL: Role Release MapCustomer expansion, product expansion, acquisition growth
TOOL: 3-Growth Matrix™Exit options, deal team, deal structure, graduation
TOOL: Exit Prep Scorecard™Each session runs the same rhythm: a teach segment that introduces the month’s concept, a hot seat segment where one or two members get peer input on a real situation, and a commit segment where every member leaves with a single next action. Between sessions, you get one check-in from your facilitator and no other standing meetings, by design.
Twelve monthly two-hour sessions with the same peer group, on the same day each month for a full year.
The complete Exit Factor toolkit: the Value Vision Map™, Profit Pulse Plan™, Role Release Map, 3-Growth Matrix™, and Exit Prep Scorecard™.
Dedicated presentation time on your own business at least twice per year, when the group focuses on your specific situation in depth.
A monthly email check-in from your facilitator to keep momentum between sessions.
A graduation conversation that maps the next twelve months for your business.
Lifetime access to the cohort directory, so the relationships continue after the program ends.
The next twelve months will pass either way. Owners who finish the Exit Factor Mastermind walk out with four things they did not have when they started:
A target transition date and the roadmap to reach it.
Stronger profit margins and the KPIs to hold them.
Documented systems and a team that runs without you.
Three to seven fellow owners you can call on long after the year ends.
The Exit Factor Mastermind is built for established owners who are roughly two to seven years from a transition and want structure and accountability alongside peers. It works best for owners who can share real numbers and real challenges and commit two to three hours a month for twelve months. As you weigh it, ask yourself three questions:
Do I make my biggest decisions alone, without peers who truly understand them?
Do I know what I should be working on, but struggle to finish it without accountability?
Would honest input from owners who have faced the same decisions change what I do next?
If you answered yes to even one, a peer group is likely a strong fit. If you would rather have a dedicated advisor working only on your business, one-to-one consulting may suit you better. The discovery call is where we confirm fit, honestly, in either direction.
Peer Groups are the middle of three ways to work with Exit Factor. They give you the methodology and an expert guide, like one-to-one consulting, with the perspective and accountability of a group full of peers, at a fraction of the cost.
Owners who want to learn the methodology and apply it themselves, at their own pace.
Owners who want guidance and accountability alongside a small group of peers facing the same decisions.
Owners who want a dedicated consultant working directly on their business and their exit.
Submit a short cohort application or book a free discovery call. Either way, the next step is a conversation.
OUTCOME
Your interest on record and a call on the calendar.
A Certified Exit Factor Consultant talks through your business, your timeline, and your goals, and tells you honestly whether a cohort is the right fit.
OUTCOME
A clear yes, no, or not yet, plus pricing for your market.
Once you confirm, you reserve your seat and complete the opening steps of the Value Vision Map before the first session.
OUTCOME
A confirmed seat, your twelve session dates, and a defined most-important outcome.
Twelve monthly sessions, a hot seat on your business, and the work in between.
OUTCOME
A more valuable, more independent business and a plan for your transition.
Every Exit Factor Mastermind is led by a Certified Exit Factor Consultant in your market, an experienced advisor who has worked with owners on growing value and preparing for a transition.
Your facilitator runs every session, holds the group to its agreements, and checks in between sessions, so the group stays on track for the full year.
A business peer group is a small, consistent group of business owners who meet regularly to work on each other’s businesses, sharing real numbers and real challenges in confidence. It is sometimes called a mastermind. The value comes from perspective and accountability: owners at a similar stage who understand the decisions you face and hold you to the actions you commit to. The strongest groups are facilitated, follow a structure, and are matched so no direct competitors sit in the same group. A program like the Exit Factor Mastermind runs a peer group as a twelve-month cohort guided by a Certified Exit Factor Consultant with a specific end-goal: to grow the profit and value in your business.
A business mastermind and a peer group are essentially the same thing: a small group of owners who meet over time to give each other focused input. “Mastermind” tends to emphasize the structured, curriculum-driven version, while “peer group” emphasizes the people in the group. Most masterminds are open-ended discussion groups; the difference is structure. The Exit Factor Mastermind focuses on a specific business improvement exercise every month and moves every member through the same five phases on the same timeline.
A group coaching program offers benefits different from those of one-to-one coaching. With a group coaching program, you gain from other owners who have lived through what you are facing, so their experience can provide insight and answers to your current situation.
Being amongst peers also creates an additional layer of accountability that a coaching relationship sometimes does not. One-to-one work gives you a dedicated partner who deeply understands your business. Many business owners find the two work best together over time. A service like Exit Factor offers both a facilitated peer group and one-to-one consulting, helping owners choose the right fit or combine them.
Exit Factor Mastermind cohorts are small by design: three to eight owners. A small group means everyone gets equal attention on their business, including dedicated presentation time for each owner at least twice per year. Cohorts are also balanced so members are at a comparable stage, and no direct competitors or partners share a group.
Yes to the first, no to the second. Confidentiality is the first agreement of every cohort: what is said in the room stays in the room, and only generalized learnings leave it. Sessions are not recorded, by design, so owners can speak freely. Exit Factor also avoids placing direct competitors in the same cohort, which helps make it safe to share real numbers. A program like Exit Factor builds these protections into the member agreement.
Members are expected to attend at least 10 of the 12 sessions. Sessions are not recorded, so attendance matters; if you must miss one, you send your facilitator a short note beforehand about what you would have shared and what you most need next. Missing one or two across the year is normal, but the program depends on consistency, which is why the same small group meets all twelve months. A program like Exit Factor builds attendance into its member agreement so the group stays strong for everyone.
Plan on one two-hour session a month, plus a few hours of work in your business between sessions. There is one mid-month check-in from your facilitator and no other standing meetings. The program is built to optimize the work you are already doing rather than add to your plate, and most owners find it gives back more time than it takes by sharpening the decisions you make. A program like Exit Factor keeps the time commitment deliberately light so the work happens in the business, not in more calls.
Both. Exit Factor Mastermind cohorts run in person at local Exit Factor offices and as virtual cohorts, depending on your market and your preference. In-person and virtual groups follow the same curriculum and the same session structure. The discovery call is when you find out which cohorts are forming near you and choose the format that fits. Exit Factor runs groups across 150+ local markets and virtually.
It is built for established small- and mid-sized business owners who are roughly 2 to 7 years away from a transition and want structure and accountability alongside peers. Owners get the most from it when they have a real business with real numbers to work with, are willing to share honestly, and do the work between sessions. Owners who are ready to sell tomorrow are usually too late for the Mastermind model and are recommended to pursue one-to-one consulting to match their truncated timeline. Very early-stage owners may be better served by Exit Factor’s Community program. Exit Factor uses a short discovery call to confirm fit before anyone joins.
By graduation, most members have at least four things: a written plan with a target transition date, healthier profit margins, a business that depends less on them day-to-day, and a small group of peers they can call on for years. The exact results depend on the work each owner puts in. A program like Exit Factor closes the year with a one-to-one conversation that maps the next twelve months, whether that is re-enrolling, an alumni track, or moving to individual consulting.
The Exit Factor Mastermind is an annual program priced between the self-paced Community and one-to-one consulting, so owners get expert guidance and a peer group for far less than a private engagement. Exact pricing, payment plan options, and any current cohort openings are confirmed during a free discovery call, because the right starting point depends on your market and goals. Exit Factor’s services are designed to fit a small business owner’s budget, and payment plans are available in most markets.
No. Earlier is better. The work that changes what a business is worth happens in the years before a transition, not the months before, so owners who are two to seven years out are exactly who the program is built for. Joining early means you build value on your own timeline instead of scrambling when an offer or a life event forces the issue. Exit Factor uses a free discovery call to help owners decide whether now or a future cohort is the right time.
The simplest way to find out is to apply and book a discovery call. The call is free, and a Certified Exit Factor Consultant will tell you honestly whether the timing is right; if it is not, they will say so and suggest a better next step. The program turns away applications when the fit is wrong because the quality of the group matters more than the seat count. Exit Factor would rather place the right owners than fill every seat.
The twelve-month curriculum follows the five phases of the VORTEx Model™ from The Exit Factor: Value, Optimize, Record, Transform, and Exit. Each phase is anchored to one of the methodology’s core tools (the Value Vision Map™, Profit Pulse Plan™, Role Release Map, 3-Growth Matrix™, and Exit Prep Scorecard™), so the group works through the process of building value in a deliberate order. This is what separates the program from open-ended mastermind groups. The Exit Factor Mastermind is the facilitated, group version of the same methodology covered in the book.
Exit Factor is owned by the same group that operates the largest business brokerage network in the world. Our methodology is built on insights from more than 2,000 business exits across 75+ industries, distilled into the VORTEx Model that helps owners build companies that are more profitable, more valuable, and designed to give them options on their own timeline. Every engagement is delivered by a Certified Exit Factor Consultant, and with locations across 150+ U.S. markets and three international markets, a consultant is almost always within driving distance.
Business exits behind the model
Industries served
U.S. markets
+ 3 international markets
Want the full methodology in book form? Read The Exit Factor by Jessica Fialkovich, Founder of Exit Factor →
You do not have to build the next few years alone. Cohorts are small and fill by market, so the next step is simple: apply or book a discovery call, and a Certified Exit Factor Consultant will help you find the right cohort and timing. Bring your questions and a rough sense of your goals. We will handle the rest.