Since the beginning we've only really told one story on the pitch, what it's like to start and raise money for a startup.

But what about the rest of the journey? What happens after you raise the money? We all know that the goal

of a startup is to eventually exit, but when do you exit? For how much? And how do you know who to sell to? What if they completely ruin the thing you've spent years of your life building?

We've all seen that story play out. And what does it even mean to exit? It all sounds so final, like

you just walk out the door straight onto your new yacht. But for the people

involved, it's not that simple at all.

We wanted to talk to startup founders who've actually done it.

How does it feel to finally accomplish the dream?

And is that dream all it's cracked up to be? This is a special

segment we're calling the exit. Today, how Bill Smith, a high school dropout from

Birmingham, Alabama, started, scaled, and sold shipped for

550 million dollars in three years.

I'm Josh Muccio.

On the pitch, real startup founders pitch real investors for real money and on the exit we tell the rest of the story

Here we go

The company just exploded overnight. What did you think going into that sweep?

Did you feel like a big deal?

No.

No, I didn't.

I felt like a little guy. I didn't have a feel for the game, but I figured it out really fast.

What did you think when you threw out the number?

I ran the company out of money, almost completely out of money.

...