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Opsist

10X Your Business.From founder-run to institutionally operated.

Opsist combines operating cost substitution, EBITDA expansion, growth and institutionalization to build enterprise value in founder-led businesses.

Many businesses reach $1M+ in revenue while the founder is still the operating system. Growth slows, management depth stays thin, and earnings remain dependent on one person.

Opsist changes the operating structure before trying to scale the business.

Revenue
$1M$5M
EBITDA
$150K$1M
Enterprise value
$600K$6M

Enterprise Value = Sustainable EBITDA x Market Multiple

Illustrative only

Cost substitution

Professionalization should pay for itself.

Illustrative only
Existing operating cost replaced or absorbed
$170K
Salary, finance, operations, systems, vendor administration
Opsist annual operating fee
$120K
$120,000 minimum applies at $1M revenue
Base operating savings
+$50K
Before any growth assumption
EBITDA before growth
$150K → $200K
Same revenue, same 4.0x multiple

The partnership should make economic sense before growth assumptions.

Opsist first replaces operating infrastructure the business already pays for. The Ops Audit maps that cost pool. If verified cost replaced or absorbed does not exceed the operating fee, the engagement does not pass the base economic-fit test.

Test it with your numbers

Illustrative only. Actual cost pool, scope and timing vary by business.

The journey

Five stages, in sequence.

Operating structure first, then earnings, then growth, then scale, then options.

The 10X PlanStart $600K EV
  1. 01Months 0-3

    Professionalize

    • Cost substitution
    • Finance and reporting
    • Operating technology
    • SOPs and workflow ownership
    • Founder workload reduction
    EBITDA
    $200K
    EV
    $800K
  2. 02Months 3-12

    Expand EBITDA

    • Pricing discipline
    • Procurement
    • Gross margin
    • Automation
    • Labor productivity
    EBITDA
    $300K
    EV
    $1.35M
  3. 03Months 12-24

    Accelerate growth

    • Revenue operations
    • Retention
    • New markets
    • Growth capital where appropriate
    EBITDA
    $500K
    EV
    $2.5M
    Explore Growth Capital
  4. 04Months 24+

    Build scale

    • Management depth
    • Additional locations
    • Add-on acquisitions where appropriate
    • Portfolio formation where appropriate

    Optional. Not every business forms a portfolio.

    EBITDA
    $800K
    EV
    $4.4M
    Explore Portfolios and Roll-Ups
  5. 05When ready

    Create liquidity options

    • Quality of earnings
    • Data room
    • Founder independence
    • Transaction readiness
    • Strategic, PE and recap pathways
    EBITDA
    $1M
    EV
    $6M
    Explore Exit Pathways

Timing is approximate and varies by business. EBITDA and enterprise value per stage follow the illustrative six-stage model and are not forecasts.

Illustrative only

Value bridge

Where the illustrative 10X comes from.

$600K to $6M of enterprise value, mechanism by mechanism. Each operating step is valued at the starting 4.0x; the market re-rating is shown separately.

Illustrative only
  1. Starting enterprise value$600K

    $1M revenue, 15% margin, $150K EBITDA at 4.0x

  2. Cost substitution+$200K

    EBITDA $150K to $200K at 4.0x

  3. EBITDA expansion+$400K

    EBITDA $200K to $300K at 4.0x

  4. Revenue growth+$800K

    EBITDA $300K to $500K at 4.0x

  5. Scale and management depth+$2M

    EBITDA $500K to $1M at 4.0x

  6. Market re-rating+$2M

    4.0x to 6.0x on $1M EBITDA. Market-determined.

  7. Illustrative enterprise value$6M

    $5M revenue, 20% margin, $1M EBITDA at 6.0x

Where the $5.4M increase comes from$600K to $6M = 10.0x
EBITDA growth at the starting 4.0x
+$3.4M (63%)
Market multiple, 4.0x to 6.0x
+$2M (37%)
Revenue growth
5.0x
EBITDA growth
About 6.7x
Multiple expansion
1.5x
Enterprise value growth
10.0x

Opsist works on the operating variables. Buyers, sector and market conditions determine the multiple.

Illustrative only, not a forecast or a client outcome. Enterprise value is EBITDA multiplied by the multiple shown and excludes debt, cash, transaction costs, taxes and the capital required to fund growth or acquisitions.

Capital and portfolio paths

Two optional paths.

Considered case by case, after the operating base is in place.

01

Growth capital

Where the economics support it, Opsist can pair operating infrastructure with company-specific growth capital.

Explore Growth Capital
02

Portfolios and roll-ups

In fragmented markets, the right company may become a platform for add-on acquisitions and shared-services integration.

Explore Portfolios and Roll-Ups

Founder destination

The goal is not to run your business forever.

It is to build a business that can run without you.

  1. 01

    Founder-dependent business

    Decisions, customers and cash run through one person.

  2. 02

    Management-led company

    Named owners for finance, operations and revenue.

  3. 03

    Institutionally operated platform

    One operating system, one reporting basis, documented controls.

  4. 04

    Liquidity options

    Strategic sale, private-equity partnership or recapitalization, when ready.

Attributes of the final state
  • 01

    Reliable reporting

  • 02

    Management depth

  • 03

    Documented operations

  • 04

    Reduced founder dependency

  • 05

    Scalable systems

  • 06

    Transaction readiness

Explore Exit Pathways

Availability, timing and pricing of any transaction are market-dependent. Opsist prepares the business; it does not guarantee a sale.

Operating partnership economics

Illustrative only

Test the economics for your business.

First test whether the operating partnership pays for itself. Then model what revenue and EBITDA growth do to enterprise value. It opens at the $1M starting company: $170,000 of cost replaced or absorbed, no revenue growth and no other improvement, so $50,000 of base savings carries EBITDA from $150K to $200K and enterprise value from $600K to $800K at the same 4.0x. Revenue creates enterprise value only when it converts into sustainable EBITDA.

Pricing has two parts: an operating fee of 10% of topline revenue with a $10,000 monthly minimum, and a separate 10% exit participation at a qualifying exit, with the calculation base and mechanics defined in the partnership agreement. The exit participation is not deducted in this model.

Illustrative operating economicsIllustrative only

Every input below is editable. Pro forma revenue opens equal to current revenue, so the default result is cost substitution only.

Revenue after the operating changes. It can be set below current revenue.

Applies only to the change in revenue, not to the whole revenue base.

Salary, finance, operations, systems and vendor administration Opsist takes over.

Pricing, procurement, productivity, automation, gross margin or other operating gains that are not already captured in the incremental revenue contribution, so nothing is counted twice.

Annual Opsist operating fee = max(10% of annual revenue, $120,000)

At $1,000,000 of revenue the $120,000 minimum applies, so the effective rate is 12% of revenue. Higher revenue raises the fee once 10% of revenue passes the minimum. $1M of revenue is an eligibility floor, not a statement of fit. The Ops Audit determines fit.

Test one: does the partnership pay for itself before growth?
Base economic-fit test

Passes base economic-fit test

$170,000 replaced or absorbed vs $120,000 current operating fee = +$50,000 base operating savings

This test uses current cost substitution only. Revenue growth and other EBITDA improvement are deliberately excluded from it and cannot rescue a failed result.

Test two: what do revenue and EBITDA changes do to enterprise value?
Revenue
$1,000,000$1,000,000

$00.0%

Revenue creates enterprise value only when it converts into sustainable EBITDA.

Sustainable EBITDA
$150,000$200,000

+$50,000+33.3%

Cost substitution, the EBITDA on incremental revenue and other operating gains, less the fee change.

Illustrative enterprise value at 4.0x
$600,000$800,000

+$200,000+33.3%

Enterprise value is sustainable EBITDA multiplied by the market multiple. Buyers and market conditions determine the multiple.

Build-up: from revenue to EBITDA to enterprise value
Current EBITDA before Opsist15% of $1,000,000 revenue$150,000
Base savings from cost substitution$170,000 replaced or absorbed less $120,000 fee+$50,000
EBITDA contribution from revenue change$0 revenue x 20% incremental margin$0
Other EBITDA improvementPricing, procurement, productivity, automation or gross margin gains$0
Incremental fee from revenue change$120,000 pro forma fee less $120,000 current fee$0
Pro forma sustainable EBITDA$150,000 + $50,000$200,000
Illustrative enterprise value$200,000 sustainable EBITDA x 4.0x$800,000

Revenue is never multiplied by the EBITDA multiple. The chain runs revenue change to EBITDA contribution to enterprise value contribution.

At these assumptions sustainable EBITDA rises by $50,000 a year and illustrative enterprise value by $200,000 at 4.0x.

Illustrative operating model only. Actual scope, replaced cost, revenue, incremental margin and sustainable EBITDA vary by company. Enterprise value shown is EBITDA multiplied by the selected multiple and excludes debt, cash, transaction costs and taxes. Buyers and market conditions determine the multiple.

The longer-term model

Model the longer-term 10X path.

A multi-year model with editable assumptions and the six-stage preset. Compounding revenue growth, margin gains, acquired EBITDA and the exit multiple determine the path; the arithmetic is shown line by line.

Scenario
Starting position
$
%
x
Yearly assumptions
%
pp
$
x
Starting EBITDA

$150,000

15% of $1,000,000 revenue

Starting enterprise value

$600,000

$150,000 x 4.0x

EBITDA at Year 5

$497,664

Organic + cumulative acquired

Enterprise value at Year 5

$2,985,984

$497,664 x 6.0x

Modelled enterprise value relative to starting enterprise value5.0x
Total EBITDA trajectory$192,000 in year 1 to $497,664 in year 5
  1. $192,000Y1
  2. $244,800Y2
  3. $311,040Y3
  4. $393,984Y4
  5. $497,664Y5
Revenue
$1,200,000 to $2,488,320
Margin
16.0% to 20.0%
Enterprise value at 6.0x
$1,152,000 to $2,985,984

Illustrative scenario only. Actual results and valuation multiples vary materially by industry, margins, growth, concentration, capital structure and market conditions. Enterprise value shown is EBITDA x multiple and excludes debt, cash, transaction costs, taxes and the capital required to fund acquisitions.

Why Opsist

Infrastructure, operators, optionality.

  • 01

    Operating infrastructure first

    We build the systems and operating layer before pushing growth.

  • 02

    Technology + operators

    The platform combines operating technology with people accountable for execution.

  • 03

    Built toward optionality

    The objective is sustainable EBITDA, reduced founder dependency and more strategic options.

See if the economics work for your business.

The Ops Audit establishes the operating base of the plan: reporting quality, margin discipline and founder dependency, in that order.

Start Your Free Ops AuditSee How Opsist WorksSpeak With Opsist 855-526-7747