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For Business Owners

You built something worth keeping. We agree.

If you have spent a career building a company, the decision to sell it carries more than a number. What happens next, to the business and to you, matters just as much. We would like to talk that through.

Start a Conversation A first step, and nothing more.
An owner in a hard hat looking out over his shop floor, seen from behind, in navy tones.

Why HarborWind

A seller can choose among many independent sponsors. Here is what is true about the two people you would be choosing here, stated plainly, on the axes that actually matter.

  1. We have actually done this

    One of us built a digital transformation consultancy and sold it to private equity in 2022, to Ensono, a KKR portfolio company. The other spent 18 years buying, sitting on the boards of, and growing companies like yours. Between us, that is a company built and sold and 18 years in the ownership seat, with a name, a buyer, and a year you can check.

  2. We stay in our lane

    We focus on three kinds of business: Niche Manufacturing, Specialty Chemicals, and Industrial and Essential B2B Services. Working in known territory means the questions we ask in diligence are informed ones, and it means we can move at the pace of a buyer who has seen a business like yours before.

  3. You deal with us directly

    When you reach out, one of the two of us writes back, personally. The person who would sit across the table in a real negotiation is the same person you talk to from the first email, all the way through close.

Sean Mahoney, Managing Partner at HarborWind Partners
Sean MahoneyManaging Partner. Built and sold a software company; leads how we modernize the businesses we buy.
Rocky Lopez, Managing Partner at HarborWind Partners
Rocky LopezManaging Partner. 18 years buying, chairing, and growing lower-middle-market companies.

The Road

From the first call to the years after

The hardest part of selling is not knowing what happens after you say yes. Here is the whole path, and exactly what we ask of you at each step.

  1. Stop Oneyou are here

    The first call

    A conversation, and nothing more. You tell us about the business at a high level, we tell you how we think about companies like yours, and together we decide whether a second conversation is worth having.

    What we ask forNothing on paper. Talk to us the way you would talk to a peer.

  2. Stop Two

    Getting to know the business

    Over a few weeks we learn how the company actually works: its people, its customers, and the things that make it yours. There is no rush, and financials can stay high level while we get oriented.

    What we ask forA picture of the business, shared at whatever level of detail you are comfortable with.

  3. Stop Three

    The number

    We put a real number on the table and walk you through how we arrived at it, so you understand the reasoning behind it and where it comes from. Once we agree on terms in a letter of intent, they hold. The number we sign is the number we close.

    What we ask forEnough financial detail to value the company honestly.

  4. Stop Four

    Diligence and close

    This is the part owners worry about most: a deal that drags on, or falls apart and leaves the business exposed. We line up our capital before we sign, so when we commit, we can close. We keep the process quiet and contained, so your team and your customers stay steady while it runs.

    What we ask forAccess to the details, and patience for a few focused weeks.

  5. Stop Five

    The years after

    The day we close is the beginning of the part that matters. Your name stays. Your people stay. The company stays in the community that built it, and we grow it rather than cut it, over years rather than quarters.

    What we ask of youWhatever role you want in the next chapter, from a clean handoff to a stake you keep and a seat at the table.

Fit

Is your business a fit?

We buy a specific kind of company. Tap the ones that sound like yours, then see where you land. Nothing here is a test you can fail.

Take a look.Tap the criteria that sound like your business. There is no wrong answer, and nothing gets shared.

The Ask

The road starts with a call

Send a short note, or just your name and a line about the company. One of the two of us will read it and write back.

The first conversation is confidential, unhurried, and without obligation. We will reply within one business day.

Ready to talk

A short note reaches one of the two of us directly, and we write back.

Start a Conversation

Not ready yet

You do not have to be ready to sell to hear from us. Stay close with a short, infrequent note for owners thinking about what comes next.

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Reading

Things worth reading

From our Insights, for whenever you are ready.