The Team
The People Behind
the Partnership.
Two operators who’ve actually done the work, not outsourced analysts, not a dashboard login. Real people inside your business. Here’s who shows up.
You get a CFO and a seasoned right-hand operator working inside your business: cleaning up the numbers, building a team that can run it without you, and getting it ready for a strong sale, on your terms and your timeline. Advisory if you want senior judgment on a cadence. Embedded if you want both partners in the work.
Two businesses can earn the same profit and sell for very different prices. A business that runs through the owner tends to trade nearer 3 to 4 times profit. A lower-risk, buyer-ready one commonly trades at 5 to 6 times, sometimes more. The difference isn’t the profit. It’s the risk a buyer sees. We close that gap on purpose, quarter by quarter.
Big private equity buys a business and drops in a hired executive team. Down here, there’s no team to parachute in, and you couldn’t afford one if there were.
So owners get advice they have to go execute alone, or a part-time CFO who just reports the past. What you needed was operators who get in and do the work with you.
That’s the gap we built LIMESTONE to fill. A CFO and a right-hand operator, inside your business, cleaning up the numbers, building a team that can run it without you, and getting it ready for a strong sale.
If you’re an owner who wants the business worth more and ready to sell when you are, this is the model we built for you. Indiana first. In the work statewide.
Two seasoned operators, working as one, plus the systems to make it run. The Operating Partner owns the operation and the team: the plan, the weekly rhythm, the hiring, and a team that runs it without you. The CFO Partner owns the numbers: a clean monthly close, a cash forecast you can trust, and numbers a buyer will believe. The systems are the quiet enabler, delivered through trusted partner firms. Acquisition Partner is project-based for buy-side work.
Numbers that survive the buyer’s deep background check, not a scramble at the eleventh hour.
Decisions don’t wait on the owner. The business keeps moving when you step away.
The business lives in the process, not in one person’s head. That’s what a buyer can take over.
No single customer who can sink the price by walking out the door.
Your Foundation Check scores against these four. Your Bedrock Score shows exactly where you stand.
The businesses that get ready early are worth more, with more buyers at the table. You’re not behind. You’re early.
Many of our partnerships start with an acquisition. We help you buy right and run it after the close. The Acquisition Partner is project-based: deal sourcing, buyer-side Quality of Earnings on sub-$2M EBITDA targets, financial modeling, lender package, and the first-year operating plan. After the close, the CFO Partner and Operating Partner step in as the recurring engagement. One team from first look through long-term ownership.
Ryan has reviewed 100+ business sales from the buyer’s side. We know what kills deals before they close, and what builds value after.
We’ll give you a straight answer, including when you’re not ready, or when a structure someone is pitching you is wrong for your business. And we have skin in the game: in many engagements we invest alongside you, so we only win when you do. One more thing, we’re not brokers or investment bankers. We get the business ready and work alongside the advisor who runs your sale.
We’re from here. The best businesses, and the owners nobody is calling on, are in the towns off the interstate. Whether you’re running a manufacturing business in Jasper, a professional services firm in Carmel, or a growing business in Evansville, we get in the work where you are.
Our relationships span the entire state, from the northern border to the Ohio River. Indiana first, in the work statewide, in the towns nobody else is calling on.
“Small-town businesses deserve big-time financial leadership.”
Jared grew up in Jasper. The name LIMESTONE is the point: the enduring stuff Indiana is built from, and a lower-middle-market answer to the big investor-operators. He built the firm Indiana didn’t have, hands-on operators who get in and make a business worth more, then brought in Ryan to lead the numbers.
Jared founded OWN Indiana, a 100+ member network for Indiana owner-operators.
Read our storyTwo operators who’ve actually done the work, not outsourced analysts, not a dashboard login. Real people inside your business. Here’s who shows up.
We don’t just send invoices. In many engagements we invest alongside you, so we only win when you do. Retainer for the work, equity for the outcome. No commissions, no success fees, no referral kickbacks. What’s live today is our buyer network: when you’re ready to sell, we already know the buyers, searchers, family offices, independent sponsors, and private equity.
LIMESTONE Equity is the next chapter. Near term, an operator-led, deal-by-deal model, taking positions in Indiana businesses we believe in. A fund may follow down the road. If you’re an individual interested in co-investing alongside us on a deal, we’d like to talk. Start a conversation.
No. Your team runs the day-to-day; you keep the wheel. We drive the plan and the big calls with you, and we step back over time as your team grows into it.
It’s built to pay for itself at sale. A cleaner, stronger business that runs without you sells for more and is far easier for a buyer to finance. And you get a CFO and a seasoned operator for less than the cost of one mid-level hire, without having to manage them.
The earlier we start, the more we can move. The best outcomes begin years before a sale. If you’re closer to the finish line, we triage what matters most.
Different jobs. Your CPA keeps you compliant and reports the past. Your broker runs the sale. We build the value in between, and we work alongside both. We’re not brokers or investment bankers.
Owners who just want bookkeeping or steady-state back-office help, and pre-revenue startups. We’ll happily point you somewhere better.
About ten minutes. Five areas. One honest read on where your business stands and what it would take to be worth more. Free, with a 24-hour reply and the right next step. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll tell you.
