The buyer's lens.
I sat on the buy side for a decade and rejected hundreds of MSPs. I learned exactly what disqualifies a business from a premium multiple — and exactly what pushes it across the line. That lens is the methodology.
A valuable service for owner-led MSPs
Your MSP is worth more than the market will pay.We close the gap.
A buy-side methodology, refined across dozens of engagements, applied to owner-led MSPs over $1M EBITDA. We diagnose where you stand, plan the multiple-enhancing moves, and — when you're ready — execute the ones that matter. No success fees. No conflict of interest.
- McKinsey alumni
- Former COO/CEO, diversified investment holding firm
- 18 years
-
Sample MSP Client, public-data only
Multiple bridge — illustrative
9.0x
+2.5–4.5x
−0.5–1.5x
11.5–13.5x
Platform benchmark
Expansion levers
Value-at-risk
Adjusted multiple
Built without contactComplimentary Analysis
We built this analysis for an MSP Client without ever speaking to them.
Twenty minutes of public-data analysis. A peer-reviewed methodology. A defensible multiple range with named levers and quantified haircuts.
Imagine what we'd find when you let us look inside.
Why this practice exists
Three positions a generalist advisor cannot occupy.
No success fee, ever.
Investment bankers get paid when the deal closes, at any price. We get paid for analysis and execution — fixed-fee, methodology-driven. Our incentive is your number, not the deal.
Methodology, not market pricing.
Generalist M&A advisors quote you what the market will pay today. We quote you what your business could be worth, and the path to get there. Different work, different outcome.
The methodology arc
Five steps. Each one earns the next.
Not a price menu. A sequence of decisions, where every tier is optional and every fee is fixed before work begins.
- 01Complimentary
OSINT
What you get
A buy-side valuation range built from public data, with named levers.
Decision unlocked
Whether the gap between today and could-be is worth pursuing.
- 02$15,000
Confidential Valuation
What you get
Internal-data-grounded multiple, defensible to a buyer.
Decision unlocked
Your true starting point, with no surprises later.
- 03Bundled w/ Tier 02
Strategy & Initiative Portfolio
What you get
Multiple-enhancing levers, prioritized, sized, and sequenced.
Decision unlocked
Where to invest your next 24 months.
- 04$50,000
Implementation Plan + PMO
What you get
A 26-week execution roadmap with weekly governance.
Decision unlocked
Confidence the plan will actually run.
- 05By scope
Outsourced Delivery
What you get
Specific initiatives executed by us.
Decision unlocked
Capacity to move on the levers you can't run yourself.
Fees are fixed at engagement. No success fees, no contingencies, no back-end participation in your eventual transaction.
Marquee case study
IT Consulting → MSP.
How buyer's-lens work shaped a recent strategic exit.
We helped an IT consulting firm build the managed-services portfolio that drove their acquisition by a PE-resourced competitor at 2.5x the expected Multiple. The same lens we'd applied from the buy-side chair, applied from the inside.
Full write-up Pending publication
“I have worked with Jon and several members of his team at ExecHQ. With a common client we have collaborated for the benefit of that client. Jon has demonstrated a keen ability to access a business, develop and execute a plan that improves the value and marketability of the business. Their process adds intrinsic and financial value for the business owner that also enables me to maximize the economic benefits an owner receives in a sale. I can recommend Jon and all the members of ExecHQ without reservation.”
M&A Intermediary
“Jon has been working with me and my co-founders at "IT Consulting" in helping us develop our vision and strategy as well as bringing about process and discipline at the executive level that allowed us to identify critical KPIs and start measuring the business performance. Jon specifically helped me with the innovation strategy around our Managed Services business and participated in the development of the Managed Services Portfolio. Thanks to Jon, I was able to get valuable advice and insights into creating a portfolio that met the business objectives of our customers and allowed us to accelerate the growth of our MSP business. The value of Jon's contribution has been most visible during the valuation process with the potential investors and acquirers we worked with earlier this year, which ultimately led to "Buyer"'s acquisition of our business ...”
Client
The founder
Delivered by Jon Rothbart. Powered by an analysis engine.
Jon spent over 2 decades as an executive of Afrocentric, a diversified investment holding firm, and as a strategy consultant. Over this time, he reviewed several hundred private companies for acquisition. Most were rejected. The reasons were patterned and repeatable — and the patterns became the spine of a methodology for the owners on the other side of the table.
Multiple Forge is a practice dedicated to one question: how do owner-led businesses become the kind of platform a strategic buyer pays a premium for?
The team-of-six analysis pyramid has been replaced by a methodology engine. Jon directs every engagement personally. The engine produces the artifacts — faster, cheaper, at McKinsey-grade quality.