Grow the value of your consulting firm up to 4x.
For owners of boutique consulting firms with 25–500 people who want to scale, reduce founder dependence or prepare for investment or exit. We also support investors.
4 ways to build more equity value.
Revenue x Profit Margin x Multiple is how investors value a firm, and also where any good firm should be strong. Our services help you improve all three.
Base Camp, Route Map and Summit Support describe different types of support, not a compulsory sequence.
Choose one of the three points on the mountain, or use one of the four option buttons. Growth Academy is separate from the route and supports sales capability building.
Consulting Leaders Club by Equity Sherpa
For owners who want sharper decisions, peers at the same stage, and a monthly rhythm on the drivers that move the multiple.
See what is includedPrefer a confidential conversation? Book an introductory call.
Ten value drivers.
Two firms with the same revenue can be worth very different amounts.
Explore all ten drivers
Vision & Strategy
A destination the team can state, and an equity story a buyer recognises.
Services & Pricing
A portfolio a buyer can run without you, priced on value rather than day rate.
Sales & Pipeline
Predictable, evidenced demand. The single largest lever on what a firm is worth.
Exit Preparation
Data room readiness, clean contracts, IP ownership and a realistic timetable.
Market Profile
Visible authority that brings buyers to you and shortens every sales cycle.
People
Succession, key-person risk and whether the firm still performs when the founder steps back.
Delivery
Methodology maturity, margin discipline and quality that does not depend on heroics.
Leadership & Governance
Board rhythm, decision quality and the reporting a buyer expects to see.
Clients & Relationships
Concentration risk, contracted revenue and the depth of the relationship below owner level.
Cost Optimisation
Normalised EBITDA, clean overhead and a cost base that survives due diligence.
What a buyer or investor pays for your firm is usually EBITDA multiplied by a multiple. Most owners spend their effort on the first number and almost none on the second, which is why so many firms grow for a decade and sell for the same multiple they would have got at the start.
The multiple is set by the ten drivers around the outside. Client concentration, whether the firm runs without the founder, whether the pipeline is evidenced rather than asserted: these move the multiple by turns, not percentage points. Sales is one of the strongest contributors to the multiple: a firm with predictable demand is priced differently from one with a good year behind it.
Your Equity Value Score benchmarks all ten against 200 comparable firms.
Predictable, evidenced demand. The single largest lever on what a firm is worth.
What other CEOs say.
We invited Joe to our board during a critical phase of Roq's growth journey. Joe is a critical friend who brings a wealth of experience, insights, and IP to the table. From AI enablement and competence frameworks to sales funnels and reward structures, Joe has something in his head and library which works. Joe is fully invested in our success - and it shows.
We asked Joe to help us during a firm inflection point. Joe’s experience resonated strongly with our industry and our business challenges. It became apparent that the depth of Joe’s knowledge, skills and previous working experience was very content rich, with many practical examples of where he had seen this situation previously. Joe helped us zero in on the priorities that will unlock our return to growth - and cut through the noise. From strategic foundations, value propositions and real-world sales conversations, he has made our thinking and approach sharper and our team stronger.
We engaged with Joe to provide external support on scaling and growing our consulting business. Over two years, Joe helped us maximise the value of our firm in what was a successful PE investment by Pelican Capital. Joe provides valuable insight from his body of research and previous interviews with consultancy owners who have scaled their firms. He has a well defined framework for assessing and improving the value of a firm, which is easy and practical to apply. The nature of his research work means that he has a strong network and I’ve found the introductions he has provided very valuable.
Making the decision to contact Joe was without doubt, the most important decision we've made yet in our company's history. Joe's expertise and advice has provided incredible value to our business. Joe has identified revenue streams for us that we hadn't even considered, has provided critical advice on how to best grow our team and has introduced us to many key contacts in his network who we otherwise never would have met. I couldn't recommend Joe more highly to someone on their journey of starting up their own firm.
Without Joe's advice, I don't think we would have done it. We’re incredibly grateful for his analysis and guidance....We started thinking seriously about the evolution of our business and the value in it. We realised that we needed a pair of expert outside eyes. Joe gave us that but also brought invaluable expertise and knowledge about running consultancy businesses. He has been a key asset not just in developing a strategic plan but also in implementing it.
Joe has helped us zero in on the few things that are really going to make the biggest difference to the health and growth of our business. The combination of his benchmarking data and breadth of experience with others like us has taken the guess work out, sharpened our thinking, given an injection of speed and also been extremely useful in bringing the rest of the company on the journey. And it’s all delivered in an extremely collaborative and disarming way, but also one that doesn’t pull the punches – consulting at it’s best!
I’ve known Joe O’Mahoney for several years. He combines a deep understanding of how consultancies grow and create value with a practical, evidence-led approach. I have found him generous with his insights, thoughtful in the way he connects people and ideas, and very good at turning research into useful, commercially relevant action. I am happy to recommend Joe to anyone looking for an informed and commercially minded adviser on consulting, growth and AI.
If you lead a consulting firm, this club is worth your time. Joe brings sharp sector data and practical best practice, and the peer discussion is genuinely valuable. Highly recommended.
Prof. Joe O'Mahoney
Joe has been advising boutique consultancies on growth and exit since 2003. Joe's advice comes from structured research across hundreds of firms, and it is calibrated to your stage and ownership pattern.
Practitioners, not theorists.
Every one of our sherpas has built and sold a consulting firm, or run the commercial side of one. They come in when the work calls for their territory.
Sarah Matthew
Co-founded Virgo Health and managed its sale to Golin. Founder of The Vibrant Company.
Mark Palmer
Grew and sold OEE Consulting, then led geographic expansion as CEO of GoBeyond Partners.
Richard Goold
Grew and sold Moorhouse Consulting after an MBO from BT Group. Advises firms on scaling and positioning for exit.
Rachel Healy
Has advised Microsoft, the BBC, Vodafone and the Premier League, and supported over $2bn of private equity transactions.
Rob Ferrone
Founded, scaled and sold Quick Release. Advises on niche positioning and data-enabled consulting models.
What is your firm worth, and why?
Ten minutes gives you a benchmarked read on all ten drivers, your position against 200 comparable firms, and the three changes most likely to move your valuation. Free, confidential, and yours to keep whether or not we ever speak.
We’ll email your score.
Prefer a confidential conversation? Book an introductory call.