Beyond Ops: What Really Drives Value
A levelheaded take on the spin
We’re lucky—we get to work with private equity, family offices, publicly traded firms, and non-profits. That range gives us a rare lens: how different governance and capital structures shape execution. Even better, we get to cross-pollinate ideas—when the relevance is real.
A few months back, Jason—the concept lead of one brand within a family-owned, multi-concept hospitality group—asked for thought partnership. He wanted to build an advisory council to stretch his thinking and support his development. I had a general sense of what drives value in his restaurant concept, but I’ll be honest—I wasn’t sure what skills or experiences he should surround himself with.
TSR Map
I called in Atif Husain, our superstar strategist, and asked him to build a TSR model for Jason. Atif dug into recent M&A activity across privately held restaurants to see how investors assess value in businesses like his. We assumed the TSR model would give us a clearer sense of the skills Jason would need around him.
Tradeoffs Made Visible
Jason’s a phenomenal operator—he knows what drives value from an operations and guest experience lens. To his credit, he wanted to surface the less obvious drivers of value. On our Zoom call, he immediately saw the gaps: Legal, Real Estate Selection, Lease Agreements, and Outbound Marketing.
But what really shifted things for him—what crossed his relevance realization threshold—was Atif’s research on how businesses like his get valued. Jason had been trading long-term value creation for short-term operational excellence. In other words, he prioritized today’s P&L over the multiple his business could command—if those other levers were in play.
Missing Perspectives
His new advisory council now brings those missing perspectives to the table.
That’s the magic of TSR thinking—when paired with relevance realization.
If you’re curious what’s really driving (or capping) the value of your business, DM me. Atif and I would be happy to build a model for you.