Straight answers to the real questions.
The ones owners and capital partners actually ask before they reach out. If yours isn't here, start a conversation.
Is an operating system like EOS or Scaling Up enough at $30M or $50M?
It gets you a cadence and accountability, which matters. An implementer is obligated to teach their system as designed, so the finding that you need something the system does not contain is not available to them. It is available to us.
How is this different from a fractional CFO or a business coach?
A fractional CFO owns the finance function. A coach works on you and the team. We do neither in isolation. We work across the whole leadership team on what makes the business worth more, with a financial operator's lens, and we build the capability into your people so it stays when we leave.
I'm a Jim Collins reader. How does this work relate to his?
Closely, and deliberately. Collins spent a career researching what separates great companies from good ones, and he was careful to say he was studying greatness rather than prescribing it. This practice is one disciplined application of that thinking: identity and honest reality first, the question of where you can be best answered before the plan is built, and a cadence that compounds instead of a program that launches. Where it goes further is the money. A buyer prices it. We build both, and hold the financial side to a standard that survives diligence.
What size company is this for?
Founder-led companies roughly $10M to $150M in revenue, and the capital partners who back them. Below that, the full engagement is usually more than the business needs. Above it, the internal machinery often already exists.
How do you work, and how do you get paid?
Two ways. Some engagements are scoped and fixed-fee either paid in advance (ValueX and Design12) or as a monthly retainer (Build90): these have defined pieces of work, a defined term, and no ongoing claim. Some Build90 engagements are structured with participation in what gets built, where part of the compensation is tied to the value created rather than the hours spent. The scoped-fee detail is on ValueX.
We're profitable but cash is always tight. Why?
Profit and cash are two different stories, and most owners are only shown one. Growth ties cash up in receivables, inventory, and capacity ahead of the revenue. The fix is not a better spreadsheet. It is a leadership team that can read the economics and act on them, which is built into the cadence rather than left to the CFO alone.
I've read every book on this. Why can't we get the company to execute?
Because reading it and running it are different problems, and the second one is rarely solved alone. The gap is structure and rhythm: declarations the team actually makes, a plan they own, and a quarterly cadence that keeps it alive instead of filed in a drawer. We install that, with your team, until it runs without us.
How do you start?
Most people start with the free diagnostic, a seven-minute scorecard that shows where your value is strong and where it may be eroding. From there, the first engagement is a scoped assessment: fixed scope, fixed fee, a defined end, and no obligation to continue. Full detail is on ValueX.
My team isn't ready for this level of rigor. Where do they start?
With the fundamentals, on their own time, before the first session. The Cadence Studio holds the free curriculum: the core principles, a foundations course on how value is structured, and a walkthrough of the Growth Canvas element by element.
How long does it take, and how long do you stay?
The first read takes 45 days. The plan comes together over the following quarter. The engagement length after that is on Build90.
How do I know when it's time to sell?
You decide, and you decide on a schedule. Every ninety-day gate closes with one formal question: is it time to pursue a capital event in the next 90 days? That covers a sale, a recap, a minority raise, or a handoff to the next generation. Answer no and the build continues. Answer yes and the work turns toward the transaction. Most owners answer no for a long stretch, and the company is worth more each time they do.
Where are you based, and do you work remotely?
Based in Ellensburg, Washington, working nationally. The cadence runs on a mix of virtual sessions and periodic in-person workshops.
Can a capital partner engage Cadence Growth for a portfolio company?
Yes. Funds, holding companies, and operating-system builders engage us to make the value-creation plan something the company actually runs, and to build operating capability that stays in the business through the exit rather than living in an operating partner. It can run for a single company or as a cohort across the portfolio.
Start a conversation.
We'll take a straight read on where your business stands and what's in the way.
Start a conversation