Factors impacting SDE multiple

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February 18, 2026

by a searcher in Boston, MA, USA

Any thoughts on whether these factors should lead to lower SDE multiple: 1- B2C business 2- Owner responsible for all sales and growth, and not staying around after a couple of months of transition 3- Mixed employee reviews, but good customer reviews (though low number) 4- Operations are half systemized, half manual
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Reply by a searcher
from University of Pennsylvania in San Francisco, CA, USA
B2C doesn't seem like a reason to reduce the multiple. All depends on the size, but they aren't inherently worse. Bad employee reviews and operations half systemetized seem like par for the course in SMB land. I would try to negotiate, but that is already what is driving a multiple down from 10x to 3/4x. Biggest red flag is the owner responsible for all sales and growth. Both on the multiple side as well as whether or not this is a good deal for you at all.
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Reply by an intermediary
in Tallahassee, FL, USA
Yes. This and many other things can impact a multiple.
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+2 more replies.
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