The days of winging value creation planning are over.
We help PE firms turn the deal thesis into a value creation plan your management team can actually execute.
The challenge.
The game has changed in private equity.
Competition is fierce. The margin for error is thin. And an undisciplined approach to value creation planning won't survive in this market. Here's why:Â
LPs expect more rigor.
They’re pushing GPs to prove they have a real, repeatable approach to driving value creation.
Competitors have leveled-up.
Other PEGs are getting sharper and more systematic. If you’re not, you’re losing ground.
Returns are tougher to hit.
Multiple expansion isn’t doing the work anymore. Operational value creation has to pick up the slack.
The failure points.
Even good firms fall into the same traps.
Across middle-market PE, we see the same failure modes show up again and again.
Wasting time for quarters with no clear, written value creation plan.
Doing a burst of planning at close, but never really following up.
Building an 60 slide VCP so complex your team can't actually execute it.
Handing the work to consultants and getting a deck, but no traction.Â
Waiting to 'learn the business' while the first 100 days slip away.
Never getting aligned on the few priorities that truly move the needle.
The solution.
There's a better way to approach value creation planning.
Less deck, more dialogue. Less dictate, more collaborate. Less ceremony, more clarity.
Built for both sides.
A VCP that makes sense in the boardroom and holds up in the real-world.Â
Co-created with mgmt.
Your port-co mgmt team shapes the plan themselves, so they own it and drive it.
Approachable by design.
A clear, approachable, and confidence-building process that teams can follow.Â
Driving focus.
Helping you identify the moves that matter most to value creation.
Bridging strategy & execution.
Translating high-level value creation opportunities into executable priorities.Â
Repeatable across port-cos.
A repeatable VCP system you can use across deals for consistent results.Â
How we approach it.
Let's not overcomplicate it, folks.
You don't need a 60-page strategy deck. You need clarity on 6 simple questions that actually drive value creation.
You can't plan the future if you're not honest about the present. This question forces a grounded, unvarnished look at the company's current state: performance, capabilities, challenges, and trajectory. When the board and ELT aren't working from the same reality, it sets up downstream discussions for failure.Â
It's hard to choose the right priorities if you're not clear on the destination. This question forces the team to begin with the end in mind, and envision the end state: What's our long-term vision? What kind of business do we want to bring to market in five years? When the destination is vivid, the path to get there comes into focus.
Now the real work begins: identifying the levers you'll pull to close the gap between where you are and where you want to go. The goal isn't a laundry list of initiatives. It's the four to five moves that will matter most to achieving your desired future state. This is really the meat of value creation planning, and at this stage, focus and decisiveness are everything.Â
Most VCPs fall apart in the gap between strategy and execution. This question closes that gap. We get specific about what needs to happen this year and this quarter to make progress on the moves that matter. The result: a short list of near-term priorities the team can actually execute.
The best plan in the world is worthless without the right team to run it. This question forces an honest look at whether you have the right people in the right seats with the capacity and capability to deliver. This is where VCP execution can quietly fall apart. It's also where the biggest upside often hides.
This is where we make sure the business can actually run the plan. We get clear on the systems, processes, tools, and capabilities the team will need, and we surface the gaps in today's operating environment. Without these enablers in place, you put the attainment of the VCP at risk.
What the process looks like.
How we go from these 6 questions to a high-confidence value creation plan.
A lightweight process that delivers a heavy dose of clarity.
45–90 Day Sprint.
We move quickly to get aligned on a high-confidence VCP early in the hold period. Most teams reach alignment on the six questions inside 45–90 days.Â
Fully facilitated.
We run the process end-to-end so your leaders can focus on thinking, not choreography or facilitation. We'll bring structure & coaching, you bring brains.Â
Execution-ready output.
Emerge with a crisp VCP the team can actually use to focus energy and make decisions. It becomes the centerpiece of board conversations & ongoing execution.Â
The impact.
"Will this work... and for companies like ours?"
Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what other PE professionals and portco CEOs have said.
Hannah C. | Founder, Stone Goff
"What I love about Dan's process is: it’s efficient, it’s effective, it’s practical. We’re not taking months of time and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get aligned. It gets us to clarity fast."
Ryan H. | Founder, Rallyday Partners
"Our portfolio company leaders relish the opportunity to work with Dan. The output of the value creation planning work has been catalytic at a personal and organizational level."
Michelle C. | CEO, Highbar
"Working with Dan was game-changing. His approach made the entire process easy for our team, while still driving extraordinary clarity and alignment."
David M. | CEO, JSI
"These sessions were a great catalyst for our team. It was an airtight process that enabled us to come out with the right outcome and a true north way faster.”
Keriann M. | Head of Portfolio, Rallyday
"Dan is wonderfully prepared, creates a productive environment, and drives the group toward decisions and outcomes with finesse. Our portco leaders walk away with tactical tools and advice they can implement the next day."Â
Jeff M. | President, Turnpoint Services
"Dan did a great job setting context on what value creation is and why it matters. This process helped ignite a new mindset for our leadership team. It’s been great for us."
Your next move.
Ready to bring more discipline into your value creation planning? Let’s talk.
Your guide.
Who you'll be working with.
I'm Dan Cremons. I've spent nearly two decades in PE as an investor at a top-decile firm, as an executive leading PE-backed companies, and now as an advisor helping both sides get value creation right.
That dual perspective is rare. I speak board and operator, and I'm at my best helping those two worlds work together.Â
I'm the author of Winning Moves, the bestselling book on PE value creation, and teach a first-of-its-kind course on the subject at Chicago Booth. I also founded Ascend, a leadership accelerator for PE-backed executives, and keynote regularly on value creation and leadership in PE.
What sets me apart from the typical consultant or advisor: I've been in your shoes, as both an investor and an operator. I speak your language. And I make this work feel practical, approachable, and genuinely engaging for leadership teams and their boards.
The experience.
Who said this work has to feel lifeless and stuffy?
Free workshop.
Curious but not committed? Here's a good place to start.
Value creation planning, demystified. In under an hour. Free.
In this on-demand workshop, you'll learn:Â
➤ How to go from deal thesis to actionable VCP
➤ The 5 things that separate plans that work from plans that die
➤ How to break value creation into manageable components
➤ A step-by-step roadmap and template you can apply immediately
