Revenue growth doesn’t guarantee value creation. In fact, it can hide valuation compression.
In payment processing alone, small basis-point increases compound quietly across thousands of transactions. Most CEOs never see it. The charges are automated, the statements are complex, and the increases are incremental. Meanwhile, EBITDA absorbs the impact.
An 80% probability of a 20% margin gap isn’t operational noise — it’s equity exposure. Buyers and private equity firms don’t value your effort. They value your cash flow.
This episode surfaces how hidden credit card fees quietly erode EBITDA, why most $5M+ companies are overpaying without realizing it, and how small inefficiencies multiply into seven-figure valuation loss.