Private equity · growth strategy and value creation
The commercial side of the value creation plan.
Most value creation plans assume growth. We help investment managers, CEOs and their teams turn that assumption into growth systems the business can run, the board can forecast and the next acquirer will pay a premium for.
The gap between the plan and the business.
Every investment is underwritten by a growth case. The business behind it has often grown on the strength of a founder, a senior team, an acquisition or a single strong channel. That works until the plan asks for more.
Most boards will recognise what follows: targets set at investment, a pipeline nobody fully trusts, and commercial reporting that arrives late and changes every month. Closing that gap is where we work.
How we work with each partner.
Value creation needs the fund, the leadership team and the people doing the work to be looking at the same plan and the same numbers. We work with all three.
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Investment managers and operating partners
You need confidence that the commercial side of the plan is on track, and early warning when it isn’t.
- A clear view of commercial risk and upside, from due diligence onwards.
- Commercial priorities tied to the value creation plan.
- Board reporting in the metrics you already use: revenue, pipeline, CAC and EBITDA.
- A team that understands the balance between fund, board and management, and can move across your portfolio.
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The CEO and leadership team
You need a plan you believe in, the capacity to deliver it, and a way to show the board it’s working.
- An honest diagnosis of what’s holding growth back.
- A commercial plan the leadership team owns, not one handed to them.
- Senior marketing or revenue leadership where it’s missing.
- A system that stops growth resting on a few people.
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The teams who run it
Sales, marketing and operations teams need clear processes, a CRM they actually use, and the skills to keep improving both.
- A sales process and handoffs that make sense.
- A CRM set up around how they sell.
- Training and coaching, not just documentation.
- Automation that removes manual work.
From due diligence to exit.
Due diligence
A growth diagnostic and roadmap
The fund brings us in for a growth diagnostic and roadmap, so the commercial plan is ready to act on from day one.
First 100 days
Alignment and baseline
We start delivering the first 100 days of the value creation plan. That means aligning the leadership team, mapping strengths and gaps, and filling those gaps so the team can move quickly. We also set sales and marketing benchmarks the business often hasn't measured, so improvement shows from the first quarter.
Year one
The system built
Fractional leadership where it's missing or needed, the sales and lead generation processes and CRM built and optimised, and AI applied where it pays back. Monthly reporting in the board's measures, and a clear optimisation plan for year two and beyond.
Through the hold
Improved every quarter
Measures tracked and the weakest link improved each quarter. Where acquisitions are part of the plan, we assess how they fit and bring them into the same growth system.
Preparing for exit
Growth an acquirer will pay a premium for
Commercial performance that is documented, repeatable and provable, with data that stands up in due diligence. We work with your advisers to prepare the commercial story for the information memorandum.
The growth system, in the plan.
A growth strategy is the first part of the value creation plan, and everything else depends on it. Ideally we work across marketing, sales and customer retention, but some plans need us focused on one area. We agree the scope up front and bring in the specialists it calls for, from technology and AI to sales leadership.
Where to grow
Where growth will come from: customers, segments and channels. What to fix first, and what to stop doing.
How you win
Pipeline and revenue targets the business can actually support, and the sales and marketing capacity to reach them.
What runs it
The systems and data needed to report on progress, including the commercial integration of bolt-on acquisitions.
Who owns it
A named owner for each part of the plan, and leadership where it’s missing.
How you know it’s working
Reporting the investment committee can rely on, built from the CRM.
Numbers the board can rely on.
We report in the measures your investment committee already uses, built from the CRM rather than assembled by hand.
Every measure has an owner, a target and an agreed next improvement.
- Revenue growth and EBITDA contribution
- Pipeline coverage against forecast
- Conversion at each stage of the sales process
- Cost per lead and customer acquisition cost
- Capital efficiency of sales and marketing spend
- Customer retention and expansion
- Customer lifetime value
Working with the fund’s own team.
Many funds run their own portfolio support. We work alongside it, as flexibly as the fund needs, whether that's leading a workstream or supporting your operating team.
The same people, the same diagnostic and the same reporting can move from one portfolio company to the next, so results can be compared and lessons carried across.
Ways to work with us.
Diagnose
A growth diagnostic and roadmap, during due diligence or early in the hold, giving the board a baseline and a plan.
Build
The growth system built with the leadership team: process, CRM, website and reporting.
Optimise
Fractional CMO or CRO leadership and ongoing improvement through the hold.
We've been inside the hold.
Before Flipside, many of us worked inside private equity-backed and listed businesses, or founded companies that were acquired. Since then, we've guided clients through the same process, so we understand what a board asks for during the hold and what an acquirer checks at exit.
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Confidentiality
We work with some of the most active private equity firms in Australia. Confidentiality comes with the work.
Questions investment managers ask.
Yes. Funds bring us in during due diligence to run a growth diagnostic and roadmap, so the commercial plan is ready to act on from completion.
Usually the fund, either directly or through an introduction. The commercial engagement is then with the portfolio company.
No. We work across the CRMs and platforms our clients already run, including HubSpot, where we're a Diamond partner.
Yes. We work with the people already in the business and step back as they take on more.
Yes, and it means results can be compared across the portfolio.
Usually within a few weeks. But it depends on the company's needs and scope. Get in touch to outline your goals.