Much of our work centers on helping clients grow the intrinsic value of their companies, similar to the way private equity firms build the value of their portfolio companies over a 5–7 year period before an eventual exit. That PE-style discipline, focus, and clarity often produce remarkable results.
But there’s another angle many private businesses overlook:
Private equity firms can also become a powerful source of new business opportunities.
If you aren’t already targeting PE firms that operate in your industry, you may be missing a major growth channel.
Find the Private Equity Firms Invested in Your Space
Start by drilling down into which private equity groups specialize in the industry you serve, whether that’s infrastructure, electric transmission, grid work, construction, or another niche.
Most industries have a clear list of PE players who:
- own companies in your market,
- are actively investing in similar businesses, or
- focus on the same operational categories you serve.
Once you identify these firms, look at which portfolio companies they already own. Those companies often need reliable, specialized vendors—and PE firms want to connect them with partners who can deliver excellence.
Lead With What You’re Best At
When you approach PE firms, don’t lead with everything you do. Lead with the specific activities where you are truly best in class.
If you can clearly articulate your top strengths, most PE firms will quickly see the value and refer you to their portfolio company executives. PE teams have a vested interest in helping their companies scale, de-risk operations, and upgrade vendors, so they welcome credible, focused partners.
But here’s the catch:
Most companies can’t easily define what they’re genuinely great at.
If you do many things well but struggle to pinpoint your core competitive edge, get help. Do a deeper dive into your capabilities, competitiveness, and margins. Narrow your message, sharpen your value proposition, and focus.
The old saying applies more today than ever:
Jack of all trades, master of none.
In today’s market, specialization wins.
Start With Internal Due Diligence
Before reaching out to PE firms, or any high-value prospect, conduct a due diligence review of your own operations. Assess core areas such as:
- People and talent
- How you plan and execute
- How you use financial data to make decisions
- Marketing and sales effectiveness
- Legal agreements and contract structure
- Operational strengths and weaknesses
- Margin performance and low-value work
Clarity always comes before growth. And eliminating low-margin, low-impact work will strengthen your position significantly.
This Is Exactly What We Help Small Private Businesses Do
We specialize in giving small private companies the tools, insights, and processes they need to:
- understand their competitiveness,
- define what they truly do best,
- refocus their efforts on high-value activities, and
- prepare their operation for consistent, sustainable growth.
We start with due diligence and capacity assessment, because without that foundation, businesses often miss the big opportunities that only come to companies prepared for growth.
If You Want to Explore This Further
If you’re interested in how we apply this methodology within our value build work, I’d be glad to walk you through the process.
Growth is available, but only if the business is ready for it.
