Sharon Preston is a British entrepreneur, executive mentor/strategic advisor and keynote speaker. She has over two decades of experience shaping leaders and scaling luxury brands. The Alignment Table is where she explores the real psychology of identity, recalibration, presence, and the next era of your leadership. These are conversations that help you pause, think deeper, lead stronger, and step into the person you are becoming.
Website: https://www.sharonpreston.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/_sharonpreston_
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/sharonpreston1
Dilution might be the most feared word in business ownership, and most of the fear comes from the word itself rather than what it actually does. Sharon Preston runs the actual numbers, showing how a smaller percentage of a genuinely bigger business can be worth considerably more than full ownership of a small one, and where the maths only works in your favour.
This episode unpacks:
What dilution actually is, explained plainly with real numbers
A worked example showing when a smaller stake is worth more than a bigger one
When dilution genuinely does hurt you, including flat and down rounds
Why the percentage feels so personal, beyond the pure maths
The different ways dilution happens: option pools, funding rounds, and convertible notes
Protections worth knowing exist, including pro-rata rights and anti-dilution provisions
How this same trade plays out for a restaurant partnership or a franchise deal, not just cap tables
For entrepreneurs and business owners weighing up a partner, an investor, or equity for a key hire, bricks and mortar or online.
Ways to work with Sharon:
Join The Alignment Circle™, her community for high achieving leaders ready to stop performing and start aligning
Explore her workshops, built for entrepreneurs ready to grow past where they are now
Join her group coaching programs for structured, ongoing support as you scale
Learn more and get involved at sharonpreston.com. (https://www.sharonpreston.com)
27 Aug 2026
Capital vs Control
Every pound of outside money that enters a business arrives with strings attached, and those strings are rarely explained plainly before the money lands in the account.
Sharon Preston breaks down exactly what different types of funding actually cost you in control, from a bank loan to an investor to money from someone close to you, using plain English instead of jargon.
This episode unpacks:
The three very different kinds of money, and what each one actually costs you
What a bank genuinely expects from you beyond repayment
What an investor actually expects, and the governance terms explained in plain English
The informal money from friends and family that often costs the most control of all
Four questions to ask before any money changes hands
Whether you can ever buy control back once you've given it away
For entrepreneurs and business owners weighing up funding decisions, whatever size the deal, bricks and mortar or online.
Ways to work with Sharon:
Join The Alignment Circle™, her community for high achieving leaders ready to stop performing and start aligning
Explore her workshops, built for entrepreneurs ready to grow past where they are now
Join her group coaching programs for structured, ongoing support as you scale
Learn more and get involved at sharonpreston.com. (https://www.sharonpreston.com)
20 Aug 2026
What no one tells you about exit planning
Every business owner leaves their business one day, sold, handed over, closed, or stepped back from.
Sharon Preston breaks down the difference between a planned exit and an accidental one, and why most owners end up in the second category without ever meaning to.
This episode walks through the four real ways to exit a business, sale, merger, gradual wind-down, or handover, what each one actually demands, and how long they genuinely take.
This episode unpacks:
The difference between a planned exit and an accidental one
The four routes out of a business, and what each one actually requires
A simple readiness test for whether your business could run without you
The emotional side of leaving something you built, even when it's the right decision
Three questions to start exit planning now, whatever stage you're at
Why businesses built without an exit in mind are worth less when the moment comes
For entrepreneurs and business owners, bricks and mortar or online, ready to build with the end in mind rather than leaving it to chance.
Ways to work with Sharon:
Join The Alignment Circle™, her online community for high achieving leaders ready to stop performing and start aligning
Explore her workshops, built for entrepreneurs ready to grow past where they are now
Join her group coaching programs for structured, ongoing support as you scale
Learn more and get involved at sharonpreston.com (https://www.sharonpreston.com).
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