Operational Value Creation for Portfolio Companies
We help PE firms and their portfolio companies in the commercial trades turn operational improvements into measurable EBITDA growth and enterprise value.
Most portfolio companies in the trades are built on tribal knowledge, owner-dependent operations, and inconsistent processes. That is a ceiling on value creation. ClearOak & Co. goes in, diagnoses what is holding the business back, and implements the operational infrastructure that drives margin expansion, revenue growth, and multiple expansion at exit.
How We Work With Investors
Operational value creation for trades portfolios.
We understand trades businesses from inside the buildings, not from a spreadsheet. Every engagement is scoped to where you are in the investment lifecycle.
Step one, always confidential
Portfolio discovery call
A focused conversation about your portfolio, your thesis, and where operational value sits. We understand the trades space from inside the buildings, not from a spreadsheet. By the end, we will know whether there is a fit and what the right engagement looks like.
We scope the engagement to where you are in the investment lifecycle
“I need to understand what I am working with.”
Operational diligence
Pre-close or early post-close. You need to know what you actually bought, not the owner’s version, but how the business actually runs.
- PRELeadership and team readiness across five dimensions
- Week 1-2Full operational workflow mapping
- Week 2-3Problem inventory scored by impact and recurrence
- Week 3-4Company Readiness Score for realistic planning
- Day 30Value creation roadmap with EBITDA impact estimates
- Day 30+Quick win identification and immediate execution
This sounds like you if...
You are conducting pre-close diligence or building a value creation plan in the first 90 days post-close.
“I know there is value to unlock. Let us go get it.”
Execution and measurement
The thesis is clear. The roadmap exists or is ready to be built. Now you need someone who can go in, work alongside the operating team, and actually move the numbers.
- Month 1High-impact quick win implemented first to build trust
- Month 1-3Implementation pods work alongside the ops lead
- QTREvery initiative measured against baseline
- OngoingKnowledge transfer with internal champions identified
- OngoingRegular reporting on hours recovered, margin impact, and progress
This sounds like you if...
Your priority is execution and measured results post-close, not another strategy deck.
“I want operational infrastructure that compounds.”
Portfolio-wide operations
You are not managing one company. You are managing a portfolio, and every engagement should make the next one faster, cheaper, and more predictable.
- BUILDStandardized audit framework across all portfolio companies
- OngoingPlaybooks built once, refined and reused across companies
- QTRPortfolio-level reporting on benchmarks and EBITDA impact
- EmbeddedFractional operational leadership in each company
- PREDiligence on new acquisitions as part of the relationship
- AlwaysPortfolio-wide visibility into key-person risk and process maturity
This sounds like you if...
You have multiple trades companies and want value creation that compounds at the portfolio level.
Deployed across portfolio companies
AI-powered operational tools
Every portfolio company gets access to ClearOak's operational tools, from voice agents that reactivate dormant customer relationships to smart follow-up systems that surface forgotten revenue. These are not generic tech solutions. They are built from the same operational understanding that drives every engagement.
How we measure what matters
Everything ties back to EBITDA
Measured in language your investment committee understands.
Hours recovered. Margins improved. Revenue reactivated. Capacity unlocked. Every initiative is measured against the value creation thesis, not activity metrics, not hours logged. You see exactly what the operational work is worth.
Let us talk about your portfolio.
A confidential conversation about where operational value sits, and whether ClearOak is the right partner to unlock it.
Schedule a Portfolio DiscussionConfidential. No obligation.
Technology We Deploy
We do not lead with technology. We lead with understanding the business, its people, and its operations. But once the strategy and operational infrastructure are in place, we connect the right platforms to execute it. Many of these technologies work behind the scenes, powering the systems and workflows that drive measurable value creation.
This is a sample of the platforms we work with. We stay current with what is new and what actually delivers results. And if a portfolio company already runs on specific tools, we integrate with what is already there. Our job is to meet the business where it is, not force a technology stack on a team that is not ready for it.
What Does Operational Improvement Mean for Enterprise Value?
Adjust the inputs below to see how operational improvements translate into EBITDA growth and enterprise value creation for a portfolio company.
Entry Baseline
$5.00M
Entry EV
Operational Improvements
$1.26M
New EBITDA
New Revenue: $5.50M
Exit & Returns
Exit Multiple
5.5x
5.0x entry + 0.50x expansion
$6.96M
Exit EV
$1.96M
Total EV Created
26.1x
Return Multiple
2,510%
ROI
“A $1M EBITDA commercial painting company with a 5x multiple is worth $5M. Unlock 10% revenue growth, improve margins by 3 points, and reduce key-person risk enough to expand the multiple by half a turn, and that same company is now worth $6.8M. That is $1.8M in enterprise value created from operational improvements.”
Built for Lower Middle Market Investors in Commercial Trades
We work with private equity firms, family offices, independent sponsors, and holding companies that own or are acquiring commercial contracting and trades businesses in the lower middle market. Whether you are conducting operational diligence pre-close, building a value creation plan post-acquisition, or managing a portfolio of trades companies, our framework is built for the specific challenges of this space: field-based teams, owner-dependent operations, inconsistent processes, and the operational ceiling that comes with businesses built on tribal knowledge.
Our approach is informed by proven value creation principles used by leading lower middle market firms. We believe operational improvement is not a post-closing afterthought. It starts with understanding the operating DNA of the business and building a plan the existing team can actually execute.