Mark Hanna had a profitable business, but something was missing. A chance coffee shop encounter led him to FocusCFO – and the strategic financial expertise he needed to help scale the business and achieve a successful exit. His Fractional CFO, Curt Wible, gave him top-tier financial leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time, traditional CFO.
“It’s key to focus on your core competencies and I couldn’t do it all on my own. I was able to get 20% of a CFO’s time, literally the best of the best, at a fraction of the cost. When thinking about Curt, the one word that comes to mind is trustworthiness.”
Founded in 2010 by entrepreneur Mark Hanna, PrecisionPoint delivers turnkey 3D scanning services and reality capture solutions for actionable data that empowers AECO* professionals to reliably document, design, and build. Mark grew the business into a premier service provider in the up-and-coming 3D reality capture scanning market and, in 2024, he successfully sold the company to a strategic buyer.
Growing Businesses Face Challenges
After starting the company, Mark decided to focus on his core competencies. He wisely outsourced by hiring a Fractional HR Manager and a Fractional Controller, but quickly realized he lacked the day-to-day strategic financial support needed to grow his business. The Controller spent most of the time on the financial close and only met up with Mark face-to-face on a quarterly basis.
Fast-forward to 2020 and PrecisionPoint was moving up the value pyramid when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. PrecisionPoint began exploring PPP loans and other measures to navigate through the business slowdown. PrecisionPoint needed advice on how to scale their business and weather the storm so that the business was positioned for a successful exit in the future.
Filling the Strategic Finance Seat on the Accountability Chart
PrecisionPoint ran on the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). At a regular check-in, their EOS Implementer suggested they perhaps needed a CFO, as the strategic finance seat on the accountability chart was empty. This was top-of-mind for Mark, while in a local coffee shop one day when he happened to run into Curt Wible from FocusCFO, wearing a branded polo shirt. Mark approached Curt and said he had been wanting to chat with FocusCFO, so they exchanged cards and Mark was put in touch with the local FocusCFO Area President who was able to quickly get both parties engaged.
How a Fractional CFO Helped Identify Opportunities for Growth
During their two and a half years working together, Curt became a trusted advisor to Mark. Being a trusted advisor means taking on challenges, like how to make necessary personnel changes to allow for growth and providing guidance in the process of implementing an incentive program. It was challenging to put into place, but Curt led the charge by asking thought-provoking questions and taking the time to truly understand how the company operates, and the key players within the company. At this point, EBITDA started to soar.
“Curt was always there for us when needed and felt more like a PrecisionPoint employee than a part-time consultant. His involvement with our EOS quarterly meetings and the confidential conversations we had together on employee engagement and performance were key to success. One of the biggest, unexpected benefits from working with Curt was that we became friends; we were having fun and continuing to build out my business.”
A Soaring EBITDA Leads to a Successful Exit
The company engaged an investment banker in September 2022 and offers started to come in in March 2023. During 2023 some operational issues paused the sales process. Curt was able to assist with a small restructuring including changing out personnel and then the deal was back on.
When the buyer was going through their due diligence process, they brought in a national CPA firm to be part of the review and Curt was instrumental in taking point with that process. The buyer’s M&A contact said, to paraphrase, that “the books are great. You and Curt did an awesome job on making sure the books and due diligence packages were top-notch.” The final sale closed in February 2024.
Mark estimates that due to Curt’s involvement with the Company, the multiple was two points higher than it would have been otherwise.
Benefits of Hiring a Fractional CFO
Some of the things that Mark liked best about FocusCFO were that we were:
- Embedded within his business. Even though Curt was only there one day a week, Mark felt like he could call on him at any time for advice.
- With more than 180 CFOs in the system, Curt was able to leverage the thought leadership of the other professionals in the FocusCFO network when required.
- Curt always kept the end goal in mind of getting the business to the point where there could be a successful exit.
- FocusCFO kept working to move the company up the Value pyramid toward sustainable, transferable value.
Are you ready to learn how a Fractional CFO can help prepare your business for a successful exit? Schedule a complimentary consultation today.
