Our Story
Better Exit was born out of both pain and hope. After launching and scaling a nationally-recognized organization, Jeff Haanen, the founder of Better Exit, was ready to move on. In his own transition, he experienced the highs and lows of passing the baton to a new leader. He was prepared to step down as CEO, but unprepared for everything that came next. Building on years of speaking with CEOs, founders and owners about the meaning and purpose of their work, he learned he wasn’t alone. Building a successful organization takes a toll. There is a time to lay it down – and how this is done will permanently impact both the business and the founder.
Jeff created Better Exit so owners could confidently navigate business transitions, recenter their identity on the transcendent, and get clear on their own motivations for the next seasons of life. Our goal is for owners to plan an exit that blesses their employees, families, and community. Our hope is to help owners usher in a new season of fruitful service post-exit, but now with deeper wisdom, maturity, and abundant life.
Our Values
Clarity
Most of life happens in a fog of speed, information, and busyness. At Better Exit, we value pausing long enough to ask good questions, reflect, and get clear on our values, principles, and desires.
Vibrancy
Our goal at Better Exit is simple: abundant life—in our relationships, hearts, businesses, and communities. To this end, we remove financial, spiritual, emotional, or institutional obstacles in order to pursue life to the full.
Hope
Exits are about looking to the past—but they are also about building the future. Once the wire is complete, we approach the question of what’s next with an unapologetic spirit of hope.
Vulnerability
Change happens when we honestly open ourselves to others. Vulnerability is key to the entire Better Exit process, from planning an exit to years after close. We value the courage of owners who transparently share their hopes, dreams, flaws, and failures.
Attentiveness
At Better Exit, you receive the gift of presence. We strive to give complete focus to the man or woman before us in every interaction, paying attention to the “pearl of calling” in each story and the opportunity before every owner.
Jeff Haanen
Founder of Better Exit
Jeff Haanen created Better Exit after navigating his own exit from leadership solo. After 10 years as founder and CEO of Denver Institute for Faith & Work, he experienced the full range of emotions in an exit: anxiety, uncertainty, relief, purposelessness, loss of community, grief, “the wall,” depression, readjustment, failure to launch, and eventually embracing what’s next. Having spent years speaking with business owners about their future, Jeff is now passionate about helping leaders build meaningful ventures and discover genuine interior freedom. He is the author of two books, An Uncommon Guide to Retirement and Working from the Inside Out, an advisor to small businesses and civic organizations, and the co-founder of YOKE, a fractional executive recruiting firm and community. He lives with his wife and four daughters in Denver, Colorado.
An exit is just the beginning.
Prepare for your future today.
Schedule a free 30-minute call to see if Better Exit is right for you.