Clean Exit: How to Leave, Sell or Step Back From Your Startup Without the Baggage

Could your startup survive the scrutiny of a buyer, investor, incoming partner or co-founder separation? Founders spend years learning how to launch, raise, hire and scale. Almost no one teaches them how to leave. Whether you're preparing for a sale or capital raise, buying out a co-founder, stepping back from day-to-day operations or dealing with a founder relationship that has broken down, the same question eventually lands on the table: can this business survive scrutiny? This session brings together a commercial lawyer and an accountant to examine that question from both sides of the deal. Mark Lazarus and Zander De Klerk will take a composite startup into due diligence and work through the problems they would find: missing or messy shareholder agreements, intellectual property sitting in the wrong entity, undocumented director loans, financials that have not been normalised, unsigned contracts, contractor and superannuation exposure, customer concentration and unresolved founder disputes. You'll see which problems create friction, reduce a company's value or stop a transaction altogether, and what founders can start fixing well before they want to sell, raise, leave or step back. What you'll leave with A clearer view of what buyers, investors and incoming partners examine during due diligence An understanding of how shareholder agreements can prevent, or fail to prevent, founder disputes The financial and tax issues that can quietly reduce the value of a business The legal gaps that can delay, discount or derail a deal A one-page exit-readiness checklist you can apply to your business the same week Format: A practical, moderated conversation between a commercial lawyer and an accountant, built around a composite startup entering due diligence, followed by audience Q&A. Who it's forFounders, early-stage operators and business owners who want to build a cleaner, more resilient and more valuable company. Also relevant to advisers and investors who support founder-led businesses through growth, capital raising, ownership changes or exit. Speakers Mark Lazarus, Founder & Director, Lazarus Legal Mark founded Lazarus Legal, a boutique commercial firm advising founders and operators on contracts, disputes and business risk. He has more than 20 years' experience across the Australian and UK markets and is admitted in New South Wales and England and Wales. His previous roles span private practice, the Bar and Legal Director at Monster Energy across EMEA. He has presented for Legalwise Seminars, StartupHaus and Macquarie University and writes for Lawyers Weekly. Zander De Klerk. Managing Partner, XETA Zander De Klerk is Managing Partner at XETA, a professional services firm working across Australia, the USA, the UK and Hong Kong. Zander works with firms of all sizes, from ASX-listed companies through to private wealth, and acts as outsourced CFO and R&D consultant for startups, established businesses and major industry players. His portfolio covers an ecosystem of clients supporting startup firms, including cap-raisers and family offices, alongside XETA's broader offering of full finance functions for new enterprises, being bookkeeping, accounting, payroll and tax built from the ground up for easy investor access and future Series A and B rounds, including the magical founder's exit. The Startup Growth Lab is 2-days of practical workshops, live demos and real conversations, part of Spark Festival at UTS, 23-24 September 2026.