Transaction Advisory & Exit Planning
We Don't Just Advise on the Deal. We Help You Execute.
From first diligence to final integration, our Growth Pros have led organizations themselves — and now embed with your team to protect value, reduce surprises, and get the deal across the line, with confidence and calm.
Hundreds Served
PE Sponsors & portfolio companies-plus banks, lenders, and brokers who refer us
CFO-Level
Deal & Exit Readiness Experience
Buy & Sell Side
Quality of Earnings, bottoms-up
Pre-Deal → Post Close
Execution & integration
Why Growth Operators
Most Firms Hand You a Report and Walk Away. We Stay and Execute
Our Growth Pros have sat in the CFO’s chair, run the close, and lived through the diligence questions you’re about to face. So, when the pressure’s on, we don’t just tell you what to do — we roll up our sleeves and do it with you.
We Buy Our Shirts With the Sleeves Already Rolled Up®
What Makes It Work
Six ways that show up in a real engagement. Here are the mechanisms behind the outcome.
|
How We’re Different |
What It Means For You |
Applies To |
|---|---|---|
|
Bottoms-Up Approach Using Transaction-level Data |
Adjustments grounded in actual data are more defensible at the negotiating table and immediately usable for accounting entries. |
QoE, CIM, Diligence |
|
We Access Accounting Systems Directly to Pull Information Ourselves |
Cuts administrative back-and-forth so client conversations stay strategic, not transactional, and reduces total time to deliver. |
Sell-Side Prep, QoE, CIM, Diligence, Integration |
|
Operator Lens and Mindset |
Insight from an operator’s perspective, including the ability to navigate accounting systems and compile non-standard reports. We partner with leadership to strategize, not just deliver a report. |
All services |
|
Growth Operators Deployed as Needed in HR, Finance, Accounting, and IT |
We accomplish the goals identified throughout the process, eliminating the need for multiple consulting firms and reducing handoff risk. |
QoE, Strategy, PMO, CIM, Diligence |
|
End-to-End Transaction Advisory Support |
One point of contact across the entire deal lifecycle; we project-manage third parties as needed so nothing falls through the cracks. |
All services |
|
Proprietary nextLEVEL® Framework |
Turns your data into a clear, actionable, customized roadmap to build sustainable best practices in Finance, Accounting, and HR. |
All services |
How We Work
The Earlier We're in the Room, the More Value We Protect
Every engagement runs on our proprietary nextLEVEL® framework — connecting financial performance, operations, and people into one plan.
01
Assess
We pressure-test where you stand and find the risks and value drivers others miss.
02
Plan
We build the deal roadmap, tailored to your goals as an owner — not a template.
03
Execute
We embed with your team and do the work: diligence, QoE, integration.
04
Sustain
We hand off a stronger, more scalable business, not just a closed deal.
What We Do
Wherever You Are in the Deal, We Meet You There
PREPARE → DILIGENCE → EXECUTE → INTEGRATE
PREPARE
Sell-Side Readiness & QoE
Prepare the business so buyers see a clean, compelling story. We refine the financials, tighten operations, and surface risks before a buyer does — so you negotiate from strength.
PREPARE
Exit Planning
Build value now, not six months before you sell. We develop a roadmap that maximizes value, reduces risk, and keeps leadership steady through the transition.
DILIGENCE
Buy-Side Due Diligence & QoE
Know exactly what you're buying. Our bottom-up QoE digs past the statements to find red flags, hidden liabilities, and real value drivers so you price and structure with confidence.
EXECUTE
M&A Execution & Integration
Run the deal start to finish. We manage every phase to protect your objectives as a shareholder, an employer, and an individual — not just the numbers.
EXECUTE
Corporate Development Support
Grow through M&A and partnerships with a plan. We help you spot the right opportunities, structure the deals, and align corp dev with where the business is headed.
INTEGRATE
PE Portfolio Onboarding & Add-Ons
Stand up new portfolio companies and fold in add-ons fast. We streamline onboarding, integrate systems, and put performance tracking in place to compound value from day one.
Service Coverage — By Stage, Not By Line Item
Where Each Service Fits
The 18 services Growth Operators offers, grouped by where they sit in a deal instead of listed one by one — plus the services that run the whole way through, no matter the stage.
Growth Operators provides 15 services across the deal lifecycle: Sell-Side Prep and CIM Preparation (Prepare stage, sold mainly to business owners, investment banks, and brokers); Price Negotiation Support and Buyer Search (Prepare, sold to lenders, corporate development, and owners); Quality of Earnings, Financial Due Diligence, HR Due Diligence, and Other Due Diligence (Diligence stage, sold to all six audiences); Strategy, Legal Advisory Coordination, Project Management, Carve-Out Plans & Integration, and Interim Fractional Finance & HR (All stages, sold to all six audiences, with Strategy and Legal Advisory not typically sold to investment banks or business brokers); Valuation (Diligence and Integrate); and Post-Close Integration (Integrate, sold to all six audiences).
From Uncertainty to a Number Both Sides Trust
A Quality of Earnings engagement isn’t paperwork; it’s what turns a seller’s internal numbers into a figure a buyer’s lender will underwrite. The diagram and article below show what changes at the table and walks through the single most common adjustment: the working capital true-up.
Preparing a Business for Sale
The Quality of Earnings Value Bridge
A Quality of Earnings (QoE) report turns a seller’s internal numbers into figures a buyer can trust — closing the gap between what an owner believes the business is worth and what a buyer is willing to pay.
Before a Quality of Earnings report, sellers face five problems: numbers built for the owner rather than a buyer, unverified add-backs, an unclear working capital target, undisclosed liabilities, and a diligence process that drags. A Quality of Earnings report rebuilds normalized EBITDA, reviews revenue quality, separates ongoing costs from one-time spend, sets a working capital target, and identifies liabilities a buyer will treat as debt. After the report, sellers gain an earnings number buyers trust, fewer price renegotiations, real negotiating leverage, a faster path to closing, and a cleaner handover.
How One Adjustment Works
The Working Capital True-Up, in Plain Terms
Every business needs a certain amount of cash tied up in receivables, inventory and payables just to operate. Buyers expect that amount — the target, or peg — to be in the business on day one. Whatever is actually there at closing gets compared to the target, and the purchase price moves by the difference.
Who We Serve
Built for the People on Both Sides of the Table and the Intermediaries Who Bring Us In
Private Equity
We sharpen deal economics — accurate debt-like item identification, synergy quantification, working capital true-up support, and seamless post-close integration. Built to service the deal from end to end.
Privately Owned & Founder-Led
End-to-end partnership from sell-side prep through close and integration. We work alongside the CEO as hands-on executors, not just advisors — carrying the work across the finish line and filling skill gaps on the internal team as needed.
Investment Banks
We help maximize deal value, accelerate post-close integration, reduce closing risk, and strengthen CIM quality with credible, data-backed analysis — keeping the process moving and the surprises to a minimum.
Private Credit Lenders
Precise debt-like item identification, synergy analysis, and risk reduction at closing, with flexible scope from full to targeted QofEs that match deal complexity and budget. We can stay engaged with the client before and after the sale.
Corporate Development
Scalable M&A support that extends your team's capacity without adding headcount. We run diligence, integration planning, and project management as part of one connected service.
M&A Intermediaries & Business Brokers
Cost-effective diligence that helps business owners understand their financials, surface issues early, and maximize value — so deals close without surprises for anyone at the table.
Operators Trust Us Because We're Operators Too
Our People Make the Difference
Our team brings the perspective of former executives who have lived through the same transaction and exit planning challenges you’re facing. When called upon, we are ready to roll up our sleeves, take ownership, and work as an extension of your team to deliver the impact and value creation your business needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Growth Operators work with private equity firms on both diligence and post-close integration?
Yes. Growth Operators supports private equity sponsors and portfolio companies across the full deal lifecycle — from buy-side Quality of Earnings and debt-like item identification through post-close integration and synergy execution.
What does Growth Operators do for a portfolio company after the deal closes?
Can Growth Operators support a working capital true-up on a PE-backed deal?
For Privately Owned & Founder-Led Businesses
Does Growth Operators help a business owner prepare to sell?
Yes. Growth Operators provides end-to-end sell-side readiness — including sell-side Quality of Earnings, CIM preparation, and exit planning — so a founder-led business can negotiate from strength.
Will Growth Operators just advise, or actually do the work?
Can Growth Operators fill skill gaps on an internal finance or HR team during a transaction?
How far in advance should an owner engage Growth Operators before selling?
For Investment Banks & M&A Advisors
How does Growth Operators support investment banks running a sell-side process?
Growth Operators provides sell-side Quality of Earnings and financial analysis that strengthens CIM quality, helping investment banks present a more credible, better-supported deal to buyers.
Does Growth Operators work as a referral partner or compete with investment banks?
Can Growth Operators help reduce closing risk on a deal an investment bank is running?
For Private Credit Lenders
What does Growth Operators provide for private credit lenders during underwriting?
Growth Operators delivers Quality of Earnings work scoped to the lender's needs — from a full QofE to a targeted review — covering debt-like item identification, synergy analysis, and risk reduction at closing.
Can the scope of a QoE be adjusted for deal size or budget?
Does Growth Operators support the client after the loan closes?
For Corporate Development Teams
How does Growth Operators support an internal corporate development team?
Growth Operators extends a corporate development team's capacity without adding headcount, running diligence, integration planning, and project management as part of one connected service.
Can Growth Operators run buyer search and price negotiation for a corporate development team?
Does Growth Operators help align M&A activity with broader company strategy?
For M&A Intermediaries & Business Brokers
What does Growth Operators do for business brokers?
Growth Operators provides cost-effective diligence that helps business owners understand their financials, surface issues early, and maximize value, so deals close without surprises.
Is Growth Operators’ diligence work priced for smaller, lower-middle-market deals?
Does Growth Operators replace the broker’s role in a transaction?
