For owner-led businesses under $5M EBITDA

Build the infrastructure that makes your business worth buying

Shellback Strategic turns operator-led companies into well-documented, systematically-run businesses that command premium valuations. Whether you sell in 18 months or never.

+129%
EBITDA multiple improvement
$3.2M
Additional enterprise value created
11 mo
From "unsellable" to competing offers

The Problem

Most businesses under $5M EBITDA are too small for PE firms but too complex for generic consultants

You built something real. Revenue, employees, customers who depend on you. But the business runs on your presence, not its systems. That makes it hard to scale, hard to step away from, and nearly impossible to sell at a fair price. The advisory firms that fix this start at $5M EBITDA. Below that line, you're on your own. Until now.


The 8-Dimension Diagnostic
01

Financial Clarity

Clean books, reliable reporting, and metrics a buyer can trust without a forensic audit.

02

Owner Independence

How much of the business walks out the door when you do? We measure and reduce that dependency.

03

Revenue Durability

Concentration risk, contract quality, recurring vs. project revenue. The stuff that kills deals in diligence.

04

Operational Systems

Documented processes, standard operating procedures, and a team that can execute without you.

05

Team & Talent

Leadership depth, key-person risk, compensation structures, and retention fundamentals.

06

Customer Relationships

Are relationships institutional or personal? Transferable or fragile? We score and fix.

07

Growth Trajectory

Pipeline quality, market position, competitive moat. The story that justifies a premium multiple.

08

Legal & Compliance

Contracts, IP, regulatory standing, and the diligence landmines that blow up transactions.


How We Work
Self-Guided

Diagnostic Tools

Frameworks, playbooks, and templates to assess your exit readiness at your own pace. Start understanding where you stand.

Workshop

Exit Readiness Session

90 minutes. Your Exit Readiness Score results, dissected. Top leverage gaps identified. Action plan created. No fluff.

Assessment

Strategic Deep Dive

Full diagnostic across all 8 dimensions, scored like PE diligence. Enterprise value modeling. Prioritized roadmap to close the gaps.

Partnership

Value Creation Engagement

Embedded, long-term. We guide the infrastructure buildout while your team develops the skills and owns the systems. Your business gets better every month.

"We went from 'nobody would buy this' to receiving two competing offers in 11 months."

2.1x → 4.8x
EBITDA multiple
+$3.2M
Enterprise value created
11 months
Time to competing offers

The Operator Behind It

Built on submarines. Proven in industry.

Shellback Strategic was founded by an operator, not a banker. 13 years leading engineering departments on nuclear submarines. 19 years building, scaling, and acquiring B2B industrial businesses. The advisory comes from doing the work, not watching from the outside.


The systems that make a business sellable are the same ones that make it scalable

Exit readiness isn't about leaving. It's about building a business that doesn't need you to survive, so you can choose what happens next.

Engage

Start your exit readiness journey

Self-Guided
Diagnostic Tools
$99 / one-time

Frameworks, playbooks, and templates to assess your exit readiness at your own pace.

  • 8-Dimension self-assessment
  • Exit readiness score calculator
  • PE-style scorecard template
  • Gap priority workbook
Assessment
Strategic Deep Dive
$2,497 / engagement

Full diagnostic across all 8 dimensions, scored like PE diligence. Enterprise value modeling.

  • Full 8-dimension scoring
  • Enterprise value model
  • Prioritized roadmap
  • 60-day implementation support