Exitwise Productions

In 1999, Dan Cornell sold his first company in an all-stock deal and watched the shares ride from 8 15/16 to nearly $94 — and then, contractually barred from selling or hedging, watched the same stock crash all the way back down. He ultimately sold his shares in chunks at 32 cents, 18 cents, and 9 cents. Twenty-two years later, he sold his second company.

Dan walks Exitwise Managing Partner Todd Sullivan through the full arc: co-founding Atension out of Trinity University and selling it to Rare Medium at the peak of the internet bubble, then starting Denim Group in San Antonio in 2001 with Sheridan Chambers and John Dickson. He explains the four-business evolution that took Denim Group from custom software dev to a leading application security firm, the creation of the ThreadFix vulnerability management platform, the asset sale of ThreadStrong to Veracode in 2015, the minority investment from Wipro that started as a full acquisition attempt, and the 2021 sale to Coalfire.

Dan also breaks down what nobody tells you about M&A: why "every organization is screwed up in a way that its stakeholders are comfortable with," how bankers reframe your financials to lift multiples, why storytelling is the real lever in a strategic deal, and the brutal reality of running your day job while taking 3:30 a.m. diligence calls with offshore counsel. He talks honestly about the founder-to-VP identity shift, why he never wanted to be "the guy who used to be the guy" twice, and why he now spends his time advising cybersecurity and DevSecOps founders through the Exited Founder Marketplace.

Whether you're a cybersecurity founder fielding inbound offers, a software CEO weighing strategic versus PE buyers, or a first-time seller trying to understand the emotional rollercoaster of diligence, this conversation is full of hard-won lessons on deal structure, advisor selection, earn-outs, and what it really feels like to put the backpack down.

Learn more about Dan and connect with Exitwise: https://exitwise.com/founders/dan-cornell
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