A technical partner for independent sponsors, from sourcing to close.
A fractional operating and technology partner from letter of intent through close and the early hold. Flexible economics: light cash plus carry, so my outcome is tied to yours.
When this engagement makes sense
You have an LOI signed or in motion and need an operating partner on the deck for the LP capital raise.
Your lender is asking for a named operator with sector or technical credibility.
You are sourcing in services, agencies, or lower-mid-market software and want a sector partner who will commit to the deal economics.
You have closed a deal and the first 100 days are about to become a problem.
You want to pipeline multiple deals and need an operating partner who can flex across them as they close.
Independent sponsors win deals on conviction and relationships, then carry the operating load alone. LPs want to see an operating partner on the deck. Lenders want to see one in the docs. The first 100 days after close determine whether the thesis survives contact with the asset, and you cannot run that alone while you are also lining up the next deal.
The deliverables
Diligence on the target
A senior technical and operating read on the asset, written for your LP audience as well as for your own conviction. Replaces or complements the formal DD.
Operating plan for the LP deck
A credible, sequenced operating plan that fits in the capital raise materials. Investors back operators, not theses; this gives them an operator to back.
Lender-ready operating narrative
Named operating partner in the credit memo. CV and references through to the lender as needed.
Early-hold execution
Hands on the first 100 days. Operating cadence installed. Key hires scoped or run. EBITDA bridge tracked weekly.
Aligned economics
Light cash plus carry in the deal. Structures vary by transaction and are set with counsel. The point is alignment: I win when the deal wins.
The engagement
Pre-LOI to LOI
Sector read, target diligence, operating plan drafted. Co-author the LP deck. Joint sourcing on adjacent targets if useful.
LOI to close
Full diligence workstream owned. Lender and LP conversations supported. 100-day plan written before close, not after.
First 100 days
Embedded in the asset. Cadence installed, scorecard live, key hires moving. Hand-off to a permanent operating team or continuation as Operating Advisor at month four.
A good fit if
- Independent sponsors raising deal-by-deal capital.
- Searchers running a self-funded or backed search.
- Family offices running a deal-by-deal direct strategy without a formal operating team.
Probably not if
- —Sponsors looking for a name on the deck with no real involvement.
- —Deals where the economics cannot carry a meaningful operating partner.
- —Roles that are really an interim CEO seat — that is a different conversation.
Named on the deck, in the docs, in the business.
An independent sponsor was three weeks from a capital raise on a services bolt-up. LPs wanted to see an operator on the deal. The structure landed in two weeks: modest cash through close, meaningful carry through exit, formal operating-partner seat in the docs. Diligence ran in parallel with the capital raise. The deal closed. The first hire on day 30 was an operations lead, scoped together.
Structures are set per engagement with counsel, given cross-border considerations.
What buyers ask
What often comes next
5-Day Tech Due Diligence
When the engagement starts at a diligence rather than full partnership.
Read more100-Day Value Creation Plan
The deliverable model after close, if you want the plan but not the carry partnership.
Read moreOperating Advisor (Value Share)
The ongoing equivalent across a small book of portfolio companies.
Read more