Our Service Model
Entrepreneurs within the Lower Middle Market (LMM), classified by gross revenue, have surpassed the startup phase but often find themselves lacking the resources tailored to their specific needs. Traditional management theories, primarily designed for publicly traded companies, can feel alien to them. Consequently, LMM entrepreneurs may navigate unfamiliar terrain, relying on personal intuition, peer networks, and past successes as their guiding principles in business strategy. Proteo Advisers offers a comprehensive range of IT, accounting, tax, finance, and advisory services tailored to meet the unique personnel, application, and operational requirements of LMM businesses.
Having engaged with numerous entrepreneurs across different growth stages and industries in the United States, Protego has identified common growth barriers among LMM enterprises. Some of these challenges include:
Personel Management
The owner is transitioning into the role of an efficient business manager, beyond solely being a visionary.
Key personnel may occupy positions based on tenure or owner loyalty, potentially leading to a deficiency in technical skills pertinent to their roles or daily operations.
Limited talent recruitment and employee development practices impede business progress.
Operating Systems &
IT Infrastructure
Technology implementation tends to align with past operational requirements rather than a structured Technology Roadmap, leading to an ad-hoc IT environment.
Inadequate application functionality and lax user controls give rise to concerns regarding data security and integrity.
Different departments, functional roles, and organizational layers within the company rely on disparate systems to track business activities, limiting opportunities for process standardization and operational insight.
Strategic Planning & Financial Structure
The prevalence of Business Model Risk necessitates owners to consistently innovate their revenue models to ensure diversity, continuity, and quality.
Owners undertake increased debt risk, thereby amplifying the business's impact on their personal net worth.
Inadequate risk management practices, such as shareholder agreements, life insurance, trust, estate, and tax planning, leave both the business and the owner vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances or life events.
