Align: We align buyers and sellers in successful transactions

The Silicon Review

Align was established to put an end to traditional M&A advisory firm and create something new. For companies who make deals that are less than $100M in revenue, most investment banking firms won’t turn back for their services- they deem them too small for the effort.

Align denies this method and takes the opposite turn. The firm combines former business owners, operators, and executives who leverage their experience and extensive network to elevate the value of their clients’ business.

Align says, “We bring Wall Street resources to the lower-middle-market. We know where you have been, and where you want to go, because we have been there ourselves. Our expertise and strategic service approach will generate significant enterprise value for your business - we guarantee it.”

Mergers and Acquisitions

Selling your business is one of the most important events to take place in your lifetime. As your partner, Align works to deliver the outcome you need for yourself, your family, and your business. Your personal needs and motivation are the guiding light that sets the course for the entire investment process. The firm designs a customized, strategic, and competitive process to find the ideal buyer and deliver the desired outcome. Align has facilitated over $1.5 Billion in transactions, and its results speak for themselves - Align guarantees to maximize enterprise value for your business.

Align Process

Align has invested heavily in its team and resources to ensure successful execution of each transaction. The firm has a near 100% close rate, and it is confident in its ability to execute. Align’s process begins with a deep-dive strategic planning session, setting the overall investment plan (also known as the “investment thesis”). The engagement team then creates wall-street quality marketing materials and engages its expansive network of strategic and private equity buyers to engage in a competitive process. Align utilizes best practices from its $1.5B+ of transactions to negotiate the best terms, and then it works collectively with other service providers (i.e. CPA, attorneys) to get the deal closed.

Management Consulting

How much better, faster or smarter could you do what you do? What keeps you awake at night? What have you wanted to get to but just can’t find the bandwidth? Align fills that void...

Align helps you re-imagine your operations in the most efficient and effective way to align your objectives with your results. It removes the barriers keeping your organization from growing and bringing C-suite resources to the lower-middle-market - resources that most companies just don’t have the budget for on a permanent basis. Align augments your team to develop the tools, processes, procedures, and resources needed to elevate your business to its highest potential.

Value creation

Align’s management consulting services focus on your business’ most critical issues and opportunities across a broad range of areas, such as: strategy, marketing, human resources, operations, technology, transformation, digital, and innovation. It brings deep, technical and functional expertise, and it is known for its holistic perspective: Align maximizes value across and between the silos of any organization. It has proven a multiplier effect - it optimizes the sum of the parts, not just the individual pieces.

Business Strategy

A few questions arise such as: Where do you want to take your business? How do you get to the next level? Where should you invest to fuel growth? There is a lot to consider when defining your business strategy, especially because it needs to change and adapt over time.

Align works with clients to define and implement their companies’ strategic plan and objectives. This allows companies to align investment in resources, new markets, new products or services, or new industries, to drive growth and create value.

What got you to where you are, won’t get you where you want to go

Innovation is at the core of Align’s business strategy advisory services. Companies must continually evolve in order to grow. However, the leaders of most lower-middle-market companies can’t find the time, nor have the resources, to focus on strategic planning. Not having time to reflect is the biggest complaint and concern the firm hears from its clients - they’re so busy running the day-to-day, that they can only think strategically in their “off” hours. Align says, “We understand these constraints and offer creative solutions that have helped thousands of companies across all geographies and sectors develop and execute winning strategies.”

Finance

Most lower-middle-market companies use Quickbooks or other small-business accounting systems and tools. There hasn’t been an urgent need to invest in anything more complex or robust, which is completely understandable. However, having an “OK” finance and accounting structure is like trying to drive a car without a speedometer or a gas gauge - you have no idea how fast or slow you’re going, or if you’re going to run out of gas. If you want to go faster and farther, you need your finance function to deliver you the data needed to make decisions to get there.

As Warren Buffet says, “Accounting is the language of business.” Many business owners don’t understand accounting or know their own financials. It’s pretty hard to know if what you’re doing each day is generating results if you can’t read your own financial data.

Similarly, many businesses don’t compile a company-wide budget or forecast how they think the year will end financially. A budget and forecast isn’t just about controlling spending, it’s about setting the growth and achievement goals you have for everyone in the company. It’s a far more strategic tool than most owners realize.

It’s daunting to think about doing all of these things if you’ve never done before. Don’t worry – Align is here to help. Its team of CPAs and MBAs can help you implement a world-class finance function, even on Quickbooks.

Dena Jalbert, Founder & CEO