The Scenario : A Mid-Market PE firm acquired 8 regional HVAC & Plumbing companies to build a $150M platform. The Drift:  12 months post-close, EBITDA was down 15%. The 8 units were refusing to use the centralized call center, and the founders were protecting their "local culture" at the expense of the platform's efficiency. The Fix : Schimpf Group deployed as Integration Command. We audited the dispatch systems, identified the 3 GMs who were sabotaging the central line, and r

The Spreadsheet Promised Synergies. Reality Delivered Chaos. The acquisition looked perfect on paper. A $200M manufacturing holdco had just purchased a smaller, nimble competitor, promising its Board a clear path to $15M in "operational synergies" within 18 months. The investment thesis was sound: expand market share, cross-sell products, consolidate back-office functions. But 9 months post-close, the story was very different. Costs had increased. Revenue growth had flatlin

Profit is a Theory. Cash is a Fact. We recently took a call from a Founder of a $60M SaaS platform. He was confused. "Our P&L says we made $4M in EBITDA last year. But I can't make payroll next Friday. How is this possible?" He was falling into the EBITDA Trap. He was managing the business based on an accounting theory (Accrual Basis) while his operations were dying in reality (Cash Basis). Here is the brutal truth :  You can be profitable on paper all the way to bankruptcy c