Silent partner
Capital and ownership, and otherwise I stay out of the way. You keep running it.
In the silent arrangement, your day-to-day doesn't change.
Sell a stakeor all of it.
I buy minority stakes, majority positions, or the whole business, and I come in as a silent partner or a hands-on growth partner, whichever fits what you want next.
Direct buyer.No brokers, no middlemen.
10% or 100%.It's your call.
Confidential.Every conversation stays that way.
Built and scaled businesses to $30M+ a year in combined revenue over the past decade.
Nothing is shared until you choose to send it.
53 Scale exists for one kind of owner: someone who built a real business and wants a smart next step, whether that's selling it or scaling it.
Who I am. I'm an operator and direct buyer, not a brokerage. Over the past ten years I've built and scaled businesses, local and online, to more than $30M a year in combined revenue. When you speak with me, you're speaking with the person who would actually own or fund your business. No listing, no commission, no parade of strangers.
What I buy. I look for established businesses, local or online, with several years of operating history, consistent profitability, a real team, and customers who come back. Service businesses in the trades, property services, industrial, and distribution categories fit, as do software companies and product brands. I buy in at whatever level makes sense, from a 10% stake to the whole business, for the long haul.
When I partner. Not every owner wants out, and not every owner wants a stranger running what they built. I can come in as a silent partner, capital and ownership with zero interference, or as a growth partner who works on the business alongside you. My specialty is marketing, mostly paid ads, and the systems behind them. Paid or not, hands-off or hands-on, the structure follows what you actually want.
How to start. Start with the short qualifier at the top of this page. It's a few questions about your business, one at a time, and it takes about two minutes. Based on your answers, we'll set up the right conversation, or a lighter first touch on your terms.
You decide how much, and what role I play.
I can take 10% or 100%, and I can be quiet capital or hands-on help. Here's how the two questions work.
10%
100%
- A minority stake, as low as 10%, if you want capital or a partner without giving up control.
- A majority position if you want someone else to carry the weight while you stay involved.
- The whole business, 100%, if you're ready to step away entirely.
- For a majority or full purchase: five or more years in business, $500K+ in annual profit (usually $2M+ in revenue), a real team, and a manager who runs things day to day or could take over.
- The business shouldn't depend on you personally to function. If you're still essential, a stake deal may fit better than a full buyout.
- For a stake or partnership: $250K+ in annual revenue.
Selling a minority stake is not selling out. Owners use it to take chips off the table, fund growth, or bring in a partner's expertise while keeping their business and their name on the door. And if a full buyout isn't realistic yet because the business still runs through you, that's not a dead end. It just changes which conversation makes sense.
Growth partner
Capital plus hands-on growth work, focused where I've actually built my edge: marketing, mostly paid ads, and the systems behind them that turn leads into revenue, like follow-up, CRM, and intake.
In the businesses I've built and scaled, revenue has roughly doubled year over year on average, driven by that exact combination. Your business is different, and I won't pretend to know your number until I've seen your numbers.
In the growth arrangement, we agree together on where I plug in before anything is signed. Compensation for a growth partner's time is part of the structure we work out together, on paper, with your advisors reviewing it.
Most owners already know which of these they want the moment they hear the two options. If you're not sure, that's exactly what the first conversation is for.
$30M+a year in combined revenue across the local and online businesses built and scaled over the past ten years.
Ten years of building.
I've spent the last ten years building and scaling businesses, both local and online, to more than $30M a year in combined revenue. I've dealt with the same things you deal with: payroll that has to make it out every two weeks, seasons that swing, customers who call you directly, and the weight of being the person everything lands on.
That background is the whole point of 53 Scale. When I look at your business, I'm not running it through a spreadsheet from a conference room. I know what a good year actually feels like and what a hard one costs. And on the growth side, I've done the work myself, which means when I come in as a partner, I'm bringing playbooks that have already been run, not theories.
What I actually do
When I partner with a business, my edge is specific. I specialize in marketing, mostly paid ads, and in the systems that make ads pay: the follow-up, the intake, the CRM, the machinery that turns a lead into a customer. In my own businesses, that combination has roughly doubled revenue year over year on average. I say that as history, not as a promise, because your market, your margins, and your starting point all matter, and anyone who quotes you a multiple before they've seen your numbers is guessing.
I've sat in your chair. I know what it costs to build something real.
I buy and partner for the long haul because that's how I've built everything I own. One business at a time, with people I trust, structured so everyone wins if the business wins.
Not ready for a partner yet? There's a third door.
If your business doesn't fit an investment right now, whether that's revenue, profitability or stage, I still work with owners directly as a paid consultant. We scope the engagement together based on what your business actually needs, and the work is the same work I'd do as a growth partner, just on a fee basis instead of equity. That usually means paid ads and the systems behind them: follow-up, intake, and the machinery that turns leads into revenue.
Many of the partnerships worth doing start exactly here, with an owner who got the fundamentals right first.
Start the 2-minute conversationThe businesses I look for
Established businesses, local or online, in six categories.
Trades and mechanical
- HVAC and plumbing companies
- Electrical contractors
- Mechanical service shops
Recurring service contracts and crews that show up.
Software
- SaaS companies
- Mobile and web apps
- Tools and utilities with recurring users
Recurring revenue and retention are what I look at here, and my growth playbook, paid acquisition plus the systems behind it, is built for exactly this model.
Brands
- Ecommerce and DTC brands
- Product companies with repeat customers
- Niche brands with loyal audiences
Paid ads and retention systems are my core edge, which is the exact engine a product brand runs on.
Commercial and property services
- Commercial cleaning
- Landscaping and snow removal
- Property maintenance firms
Contracted revenue with long customer relationships.
Industrial and technical
- Industrial services
- Equipment repair and maintenance
- Specialized technical service providers
High switching costs and deeply loyal clients.
Distribution and manufacturing
- Small distributors
- Light manufacturing
- Fabrication shops
Established routes, repeat orders, and operations that run without the owner touching every part.
How it works
Fair questions
One business.
The right one.
Whether you're ready to sell or ready to scale, the smartest next step is one honest conversation about what you built.
Start the 2-minute conversationWhat brings you here today?
Continues with question two at the top of the page.