What I Learned Selling My Agency

In 2025, Belt Creative was acquired by Veza Digital. I'd spent about seven years building the agency from a solo Webflow operation to a team of 10 handling mid-market B2B clients. The acquisition felt like the right next step, and it was. But the process itself taught me more about running a business than the previous seven years combined.

Valuation is a negotiation, not a formula

Every founder I know obsesses over multiples. What's the right revenue multiple for a digital agency? Is it 1x? 3x? It depends on who's asking.

Here's what I learned: the multiple is the output, not the input. What actually drives the number is how much leverage the buyer gets from acquiring you versus building the capability themselves. For Veza Digital, Belt Creative brought a Webflow specialization and a client list they would have needed 18 months to build organically. That was worth more than any formula suggested.

The people question is the hardest question

I spent weeks on financial modeling. I should have spent more time on the people plan. Every member of my team was wondering the same thing: does this change my job? My manager? My compensation? My trajectory? The uncertainty is corrosive, and the only antidote is radical transparency, earlier than you're comfortable with.

I made the mistake of waiting until the deal was near-certain before looping in the team. In hindsight, I would have brought key people into the conversation at least a month earlier. The trust cost of being the last to know is real.

Identity after an acquisition

Nobody talks about this part. When you sell a company you built, you lose a piece of your identity. For about seven years, I was the founder and CEO of Belt Creative. That title shaped how I introduced myself, how I thought about my work, how I planned my days.

Joining VAN as VP of Growth, and later stepping into the CMO role, was a genuine upgrade in scope and leverage. But it took months to fully make the mental shift from owner to operator. If you're going through this, give yourself grace during the identity transition. It's not imposter syndrome. It's a real thing.