A sponsor's plan needs an operator early in the hold.
Sponsors based in Denver and further afield buy founder-run companies along the Front Range, in aerospace supply, healthcare services, software and consumer brands. The value-creation plan is only as good as whoever delivers it, and a permanent search takes longer than a first quarter allows.
Where portfolio plans slow down
The pattern shows up in most founder-run acquisitions:
The search runs into the hold period
A permanent appointment takes months, and the plan has been running since closing.
Founder numbers, sponsor expectations
The company reports as it always has, while the sponsor needs monthly figures it can compare and lend against.
Seller and sponsor read the business differently
Each is right about something, and without an operator between them the gap hardens into friction.
The gap is real and temporary
A systems change, an add-on integration or a carve-out needs a senior operator for a stretch, and not for the whole hold.
Within weeks, an operator can be embedded in a portfolio company on terms sized to the hold period. A sponsor might brief us for one workstream, for cover until a permanent hire lands, or to learn what the company needs before committing.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Deploying a senior operator inside a portfolio company
- Executing a 100-day plan the moment the deal closes
- Value creation through the hold, not another advisory report
- Building reporting, systems and management credibility before an exit
- Operational diligence and leadership-gap assessment before you buy
Not for
- A strategy deck or set of recommendations to hand back
- A business that wants an adviser, not an operator inside it
- Pure diligence with no operator deployed afterwards
- A mandate for oversight rather than hands-on execution
How we work alongside a sponsor
The deal team gets an operator and a governance rhythm around them for the whole hold, not just an introduction.
Drift raised early
We check in with the sponsor and the executive on a set cadence and say so if the plan starts to slide.
Depth beyond one seat
Our collective of 800+ gives the executive a second opinion when a finance question turns into an operations one.
The engagement outlasts the person
The engagement sits with the portfolio company rather than with one individual. If the executive moves on, we run the next search from the same brief.
Matched to the thesis
The match is made against the value-creation plan, and against the founder who is still in the building.
Across the PE investment lifecycle
From pre-deal to exit preparation.
Pre-deal: operational due diligence
Embed a Fractional COO or CFO to support your ODD. They identify gaps your model hasn't priced.
Post-acquisition: fill the leadership gaps
Start the search within days of instruction and have the right operator embedded within weeks. No recruitment pipeline, notice periods, or trial risk.
Value creation: operational improvement
Build financial infrastructure, operating cadences, commercial engines, and professional people structures.
Exit preparation: build credibility
A Fractional CFO producing clean board reporting and investor-grade financials is a meaningful credibility signal in any sale process.
The value-creation matrix
Each value-creation lever maps to the operator built to own it. Most plans pull two or three at once.
Portfolio company leadership options
Match the right fractional operator to the specific portfolio company need.
Our operating partners have worked at
