Third Wave Advisory

Operating advisory · Chicago

A clear plan for the next stage of an owner-run business.

Third Wave Advisory works with founders and owners of small and mid-sized companies to build the plan, the numbers and the operating rhythm the business needs, whether the next step is growth or a transfer of ownership.

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Services

Three ways to work together

Each engagement has defined deliverables and a set working cadence, so you know what you are getting and when.

Growth Partnership

Build and run the growth plan

A structured 12-week engagement that moves from diagnosis to a working plan, then supports early execution.

  • Business diagnostic
  • Growth strategy and go-to-market priorities
  • 12-month operating and capital plan
  • 180-day execution roadmap and KPI dashboard
  • 90-day progress review

Best forOwners with a growth opportunity and no plan or team bandwidth to run it.

Exit & Transfer Readiness

Prepare the business for a new owner

A buyer-ready view of how the business runs, what transfers with it and what a new owner needs on day one.

  • Operating and growth brief for buyers
  • Minimum team and systems to run it
  • Ownership transfer plan
  • Risks and how to handle them
  • Data-room checklist

Best forOwners planning a sale or succession in the next one to three years.

Fractional Operations

Senior operating support each month

An ongoing working relationship that keeps priorities, numbers and decisions moving between owner check-ins.

  • Two working sessions per month
  • Maintained action tracker
  • Monthly KPI and performance review
  • Decision support on hires, vendors, spending and sequencing

Best forOwners who need an operating partner without a full-time executive hire.

Approach

How a Growth Partnership runs

The phases overlap on purpose. Strategy starts while the diagnostic is still being confirmed, and the roadmap is built while the operating plan is finalized.

WK 2Diagnostic summary
WK 5Growth strategy
WK 712-month operating & capital plan
WK 9180-day roadmap & KPI dashboard
WK 1290-day progress readout

Exit & Transfer Readiness

Show a buyer how the business runs without you.

Most owner-run businesses carry their operating knowledge in the owner's head. Buyers discount for that. A readiness engagement documents how the business works, what it takes to run it and where the growth is, in a form a buyer can review.

The output is a written operating brief built from the company's own records, with planning assumptions clearly marked so they can be confirmed in diligence.

Operating & Growth Brief
Typical contents
  1. Executive summaryWhat a buyer is buying, in one page
  2. The business todayCustomers, pricing, pipeline and key metrics
  3. What transfers with the businessSystems, contracts, people and know-how
  4. The minimum needed to run itRoles, time commitment and tools
  5. Ownership transfer planTransition steps and owner involvement
  6. Growth plan and scenariosLevers, assumptions and illustrative outcomes
  7. Risks and how to handle themConcentration, dependence and gaps
  8. Data-room checklistWhat to gather before buyers ask

Scope

Where the work starts and stops

Third Wave Advisory is an operating advisor. Specialized work stays with the right licensed professionals, and I coordinate with them.

Included

  • Business diagnostics and planning
  • Growth strategy, pricing and channel priorities
  • Operating models and KPI dashboards
  • Execution roadmaps and working cadence
  • Buyer-ready operating documentation
  • Data-room preparation checklists

Handled by your other advisors

  • Bookkeeping, tax and audited financials
  • Quality-of-earnings reports and formal valuations
  • Legal drafting and regulatory advice
  • Business brokerage and transaction negotiation
  • Securities offerings and investor solicitation

About

Lee Livingston

Founder and Managing Member

Lee has spent his career in strategy, operations and M&A integration at large technology and data-center companies, working on the plans, operating models and handoffs that decide whether a business change succeeds.

He started Third Wave Advisory to bring that same discipline to owner-run companies, where the plan usually lives with one person and the team has little time to build it.

ExperienceDell Technologies, AWS, NetApp, EMC
FocusStrategy, operations, M&A integration
EducationMBA, Kellogg School of Management
Based inChicago, Illinois

Contact

Tell me where the business is headed.

A first conversation covers where the business is today, what you want next and whether one of these engagements fits.