You built a profitable business. Now build a valuable business asset.
For owners of $5M to $100M companies in Tampa Bay who want a great business, and the time to enjoy a great life while they own it.
Through your blood, sweat, tears, and luck, your business is profitable and growing. Would it be without you?
That’s what determines its value, whether you want to sell or not.
You take nice vacations, but all too often, while your family’s in a restaurant, you’re pacing the sidewalk with a phone to your ear, answering questions for a team that’s supposed to be handling it.
You’ve got great customers, although a few are much bigger than the others. Because of their size, when they push annual cost reductions down to you, you take it. Where would you be without them?
It seems like you finally got the bugs worked out of your processes, but they aren’t really documented. Lose a key person or two, and it’s back to the drawing board.
Decisions, key customers, and results still route through you. Your people are good, but they don’t act like owners. You set expectations, and they don’t stick. Take your foot off the gas, and it all slows down.
What changes when the business stops running through you.
Commands more.
Loyal customers, recurring revenue, and systems that work without you turn a profitable business into a valuable asset.
Demands less.
Your team makes the calls you would make. You step away, and nothing slips.
Opens doors.
With time back and a team that carries the business, you can pursue acquisitions, replicate what works, and scale.
I have been the owner, the operator, the buyer, and the seller.
I know the difference between a profitable business and a valuable one, and how to turn one into the other.
I’ve led teams all over the world, and I felt the difference between the ones that deferred everything to me and the ones that stepped up and owned the outcome. I know the work it takes to make that happen. Some of it was changes I made to the team, and some of it was how I had to change.
I joined an ownership group of a medical device company as COO, with equity granted at a $21 million valuation. Our enterprise value grew much faster than our EBITDA because of the steps we took. Two years later, I exited at a valuation over $100 million.
I hold the CEPA credential from the Exit Planning Institute, and I chair peer groups for business owners and their executives in Tampa Bay. Together, we stack the Rocks that close the gaps.
Let's do the work that turns a profitable business into a valuable asset.
1. Start with a conversation.
Thirty minutes, no pitch. We talk about where the business is, where you want it to go, your employees, your advisors, and your timeline. We’ll answer your questions, and if it makes sense, we’ll schedule the next steps.
2. Get the honest read.
The RockStack Assessment scores the key factors that determine what your business is worth as an asset. It also scores your personal and financial readiness. You’ll know where the business is strong, where it depends on you, and what to work on first.
3. Stack the Rocks.
Once we know where the work should focus, we’ll identify the first set of quarterly Rocks that begin to increase your company’s value. One Rock at a time, we stack the Rocks that close the gaps. Once a year, we reassess, so you can see the value move.
You may not be ready to sell today, but every business will transition.
It doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s worth doing.
Phase 1. Ruggedize the business.
De-risk the business by improving the four intangible capitals that make the difference between liquidation value and the high end of the multiple range. These are the same improvements that make a business a joy to own.
Timing: 2 to 3 years
Phase 2. Stack value.
From that rock-solid foundation, with the time and bandwidth you’ve gained, you can pursue what increases your enterprise value: expansion, select acquisitions, synergies, and scale.
Timing: 0 to 20+ years
Phase 3. Prepare for a liquidity event.
Understand your exit alternatives. Select your transaction team of advisors. Attract a pool of buyers. Prepare for due diligence. It’s no joke.
Timing: 3 to 18 months
Phase 4. Launch your next phase.
The work in the first three phases is meant to let you exit at the price, the terms, and the timing you deserve. It also lays the groundwork to protect and grow the wealth the exit creates.
Timing: Generations
Questions owners ask
What does RockStack do, and where does the name come from?
RockStack helps owners of $5 million to $100 million companies turn a profitable business into a valuable asset that depends less on them. The work focuses on four capitals: your people, your customers, your systems, and your reputation. It gets done in Rocks, priorities your team finishes in ninety days. We stack them, quarter after quarter. That’s where the name comes from.
Who does RockStack work with?
Owners of $5 million to $100 million private, for-profit companies. Owners, not hired CEOs. The best fit is an owner who has built a profitable business and is now considering how to maximize its enterprise value in the market.
What does it mean to be a Certified Exit Planning Advisor?
CEPA is a credential from the Exit Planning Institute. It gives advisors of every specialty a shared framework for building and protecting the value of a privately held business. Rick Morgenweck holds the CEPA. His specialty is value acceleration: the operating work that makes a company worth more and easier to own, long before any sale is on the table.
Is RockStack only for owners planning to sell?
No. Most of the owners we work with have no sale date in mind. The work that makes a business worth more is the same work that makes it easier to own: a team that carries it, customers who stay, and systems that run without you. If you decide to sell someday, you’ll do it from strength, on your timing.
Do I need to be running EOS?
No. Rocks come from Stephen Covey, and EOS made them popular. Any disciplined execution system works. If you already run EOS, RockStack works alongside it. If you don’t run anything yet, consider implementing EOS or a similar system.
What's the typical timeline, and what results should I expect?
Rocks run in ninety-day cycles, so you see progress every quarter. The biggest changes, like a team that makes decisions without you, usually take 24 to 36 months to settle in. Once a year, the RockStack Assessment is re-run, so progress is measured, not claimed. You’ll know where the value moved and what to work on next.
What does it cost?
We do the work two ways: a private, one-to-one engagement, or a group advisory experience. Either way, the engagement begins with a detailed assessment and our proposal. The proposal is built for you, scoped to the work our first conversations and the RockStack Assessment point to. We walk through the full cost before you commit to anything.
How do I stack my first Rock?
Start with a conversation. Thirty minutes, no pitch. We’ll talk about where your business is, where you want it to go, and which path fits you best. If you’d like a quick read first, the Readiness Check takes about five minutes. Both are just below.
A business that commands more, demands less, and opens the doors you choose.
Start with a conversation
Thirty minutes, no pitch. We’ll find the path that fits you best.
Take the Readiness Check
Twelve questions, about five minutes. It’s not the RockStack Assessment, but it’s low investment and may surprise you.
Join us at an event
Be our guest at gatherings of business owners around Tampa Bay.