Created by former MBB alumni, this Los Angeles-based growth strategy consulting firm is on a mission to help its clients drive growth. It sets itself apart from the traditional strategy and operational consulting firms by taking a customer-first approach that blends the areas of fact-based analytics and creativity to create long-lasting impact.
2021 was the year of the Great Recalibration. As business leaders at major private equity firms navigated the evolving business landscape, many doubled down on revisiting their portfolios — looking for ways to make them more resilient and profitable.
This shift triggered a surge in demand for commercial due diligence support because it would enable business leaders to identify ways to diversify their portfolios. But this uptick in demand was putting pressure on consulting firms to deliver, given the current labor market at the time where nearly ⅔ of consulting firms say they were short-staffed.
With demand for its commercial due diligence services skyrocketing, the firm realized it would need to augment its team to keep up with demand. Specifically, the firm needed an engagement manager with deep due diligence experience that could come in and help the firm with current and future due diligence team projects.
Having heard about Graphite, the firm's partner decided to look deeper into the platform by engaging an Account Executive (AE). Together they discussed the depth of the network, the quality of experts on the platform, the vetting process, and how payment happened on the platform.
Satisfied with Graphite’s platform and unique white-glove service, the partner moved forward with creating a scope of work for the project and posting it on the platform with the help of the AE. Working with the talent team, the AE created a shortlist of experts for the partner to review.
Out of the 376 experts with related experience, the AE presented six candidates that matched the client's specific criteria. The partner then set up 30-minute interviews with each candidate to learn more about their experience as a leader managing a team of 2-3 associates/analysts and more about their background.
After connecting with each candidate, the partner decided to move forward with a strategy consultant and entrepreneur with a decade of experience helping organizations make informed decisions. The independent expert's background working at a Big Four accounting firm as a global innovation manager and business analyst really stood out to the partner.
Before setting up the due diligence expert as the engagement manager for its commercial due diligence initiatives, the firm decided to start the expert on another project as an associate manager. Doing so would enable the firm to see the expert's level of expertise and working style.
In that initial project as an associate manager, the expert worked with another engagement manager on a growth strategy intake for a large mortgage provider. The goal of this engagement was to help the end client develop a roadmap for growth by identifying potential markets they could enter.
Pleased with the independent expert's work on the growth strategy assignment, the partner at the firm decided to transition them into undertaking the commercial due diligence initiatives. As the engagement manager in these engagements, the expert was responsible for managing a team of 2-4 associates/analysts at different times through the course of the engagement and was tasked with the following deliverables:
Throughout the course of three months, the expert led the team in executing three commercial due diligence projects across several industries, such as technology, media, and telecom; private equity; consumer goods; and financial services.
As the client and expert built their relationship with each engagement, Graphite was involved every step of the way in making the process as seamless as possible. The AE checked in at several points throughout the engagement to see how the initiatives were progressing and smooth out any details from every item mentioned in the scope of work.
Given how easy Graphite made the process of managing, paying, and communicating with the expert, the firm has gone on to complete over 24 projects on the platform. Of those completed projects, the due diligence expert has worked on seven of those given to their professionalism, level of expertise, and quality of work.
Learn how this consulting company powered through a surge in demand for due diligence support.
Eager to onboard a team that could achieve results within six months, the client and their dedicated Graphite account manager partnered to determinze the specifications for each of the four roles. They were:
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