Deals & Reveals: Cain Cooke

Founder interview · Deals & Reveals, Episode 1. Read the full interview →

Cain Cooke was handed the keys to a $40 million real estate business at 21. He went on to work through the growth years at Boost Juice and Specsavers, sits on a string of boards, and now runs Leki, an electric motorbike business that grew 460% in a single week. In this Deals & Reveals interview he talks through all of it, across 38 chapters.

Why it matters if you're thinking about selling

What makes the conversation useful for owners is that Cain plans his exit from the start. His career rule is to make himself redundant: bring his skills, build the thing, then hand it on while he's still useful. He describes himself as a builder, not a maintainer, and his plan for Leki is to build it, sell it and hand it to the next leader.

Three takeaways for owners

1. Build a business that runs without you

Owner dependence is one of the most common reasons a business sells for less. Cain decides his horizon early and shapes roles and systems so the business keeps running when he steps back.

2. Systems that survive a surge are worth more

When Leki's demand jumped 460% in a week, the systems built for "ambitious growth" broke. Cain now spends his own time on structure and systems ahead of the next wave. A buyer will ask the same question of your business: what happens at five times the volume?

3. Brand plus system is value a buyer can take over

From Boost and Specsavers, Cain learned that a strong brand sitting on a repeatable system delivers volume almost automatically. That combination is something a new owner can step into, rather than something that leaves with the founder.

Read the full interview: 38 chapters, 83 lessons →

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