Results

Numbers first. Stories second.

Our clients are private companies and most would rather not be named. So we describe them by industry, size and region, and show the numbers they agreed to share.

64owner-led companies since 2011
+4.1 ptsmedian gross margin, year one
9 momedian engagement length
11clients sold or passed on since we left
01
Industry
Industrial valves and fittings
Size
$34M revenue, 190 people
Region
Northeast Ohio
Work
Margin, cadence

The biggest customer was losing money on every order.

A second-generation owner had kept his father's prices for the top accounts. Volume was growing, cash was not. In Assay we costed eighteen months of jobs at actual hours and found the largest customer, 22% of revenue, running at a 9% gross margin once expedites and free engineering were counted.

What changed

New quote rules, a minimum order charge, and a priced rush service. Two price conversations, led by the owner with our numbers in hand. The large customer stayed, at a 24% margin. A weekly scorecard put margin on the table every Tuesday.

“I thought I knew my numbers. I knew my revenue.”Owner and CEO
A machinist working at a lathe on a shop floor

Gross margin +5.5 pts

Before
23.5%
14 months
29.0%
020%40%
02
Industry
Commercial HVAC service
Size
$52M revenue, 9 branches
Region
Mid-Atlantic
Work
Leadership team, cadence

Forty-one decisions a week, all on one desk.

The founder had opened nine branches in twelve years and still approved every truck purchase, every hire paid over $60,000 and every discount over 8%. We logged two weeks of his email and calendar: 41 decisions a week that only he could make.

What changed

A decision rights matrix moved 35 of those to three new seats: a COO over branches, a CFO and a VP of service sales. We ran the weekly scorecard for six weeks, then handed it to the COO. Branch managers got their own five-number scorecard.

“I took three weeks in Maine this summer. Nobody called.”Founder and president
A row of white service vans parked in a lot

Owner decisions per week −85%

Before
41
11 months
6
02550
03
Industry
Food-service distribution
Size
$19M revenue, 64 people
Region
Western Pennsylvania
Work
Exit readiness

The same buyers, a much better offer.

The owners, two brothers in their sixties, had a first offer at 4.5 times EBITDA. The buyer's feedback was blunt: the brothers held every key account and the books took six weeks to close. We asked them to wait twenty months.

What changed

A sales manager took over the top 30 accounts with the brothers alongside. The monthly close went from 41 days to 9. A leadership team ran four straight quarters against a written plan. The same buyer pool came back at 5.8 times.

“Waiting felt crazy. It paid for the next twenty years.”Co-owner, now retired
A distribution warehouse with tall racks and pallets of goods

Sale multiple of EBITDA +1.3×

First bid
4.5×
Final sale
5.8×
05×10×
04
Industry
Packaging supply
Size
$11M to $23M revenue
Region
Indiana and Kentucky
Work
Scaling past the founder

A new warehouse that worked by month two.

The founder's first try at a second site, in 2019, went badly: the manager ran it his own way and it lost money for a full year. Before the next one, we wrote down how the first warehouse really ran, from receiving to the Tuesday meeting.

What changed

The Louisville site opened with the same scorecard, the same huddle and a manager trained for six weeks in the original building. It hit its on-time target in week seven and broke even in month five.

“The first one taught me what I didn't know. The second one ran on a playbook.”Founder
A long warehouse aisle between tall shelving

Months to break even, new site −7 mo

2019 site
12
2024 site
5
0612
A long wooden table in a meeting room with tall windows

“They didn't bring us a binder. They sat in our Tuesday meeting until we could run it ourselves, and then they left.”

President, specialty metal fabricatorWest Virginia, 85 employees, client 2023 to 2024

What would your numbers say?

On the intro call we'll ask for three: revenue, gross margin and how many decisions wait on you each week. That's usually enough to tell whether we can help.

Book an intro conversation (412) 958-2063