why harlan?

What does your exit strategy look like?

Are you looking for an immediate exit with a strong successor with lots of experience, or do you want a growth partner allowing you to take some chips off the table while supporting your continued growth?   Does your next generation or management team want to buy into ownership with a strong, experienced capital partner?

Making a complete exit

Business owners looking for a complete, quick exit (less than 2 years) ask Harlan to help them monetize their investment while also supporting a smooth transition out.  By getting to know the capabilities of your team, Harlan works with you to identify areas that need additional support so the business is ready for you to transition out of the business.  Are you leading most of the sales initiatives?  We'll help find a strong sales leader to fill that gap.  Are you the main driver of operations?  We'll bring an operations leader to support your present operations.  Let's candidly walk through how to fill your shoes so you can move onto the next phase of your life.

Bringing in a capital partner to back your growth

Business owners who seek a capital partner to support their growth enjoy Harlan's flexible approach to structure and capital type.  Do you want to grow organically and open new locations?  Do you want to grow through acquisition and buy a competitor?  Each situation is unique and demands an experienced financial partner to support growth.  This means you have a trusted resource in your corner backing your strategic direction. Typically, "growth owners" look to remain with the business for 4-7+ years, working hard to realize aggressive goals and cashing out again when you're ready.  The benefit of a growth capital partner is that you get to retain material ownership and continue leading your company, but you diversify your wealth and reduce the risk profile you have today as the owner.  Would you sleep better with several million dollars in the bank and no personal guarantees on your loans?

You'll find Harlan is a partner who keeps the Company's best interests at the forefront of all decisions.   Together, we'll work with you and your team to execute on your growth plan to take your company to the next level.  Harlan is more than capital; it's experienced, in-the-trenches capital.  

Smart, humble capital.

No matter what your exit plan timeline, you want to be sure that your partner/successor understands your business and industry.  So many business transactions fail when the buyer doesn't understand the nuances of the company they are acquiring.  You want a partner who can bring smart resources to bear in a humble manner.  This means finding leaders who are in the industry to fill roles in the business. It means finding leaders within your company and promoting them to more responsibility.  It means spending resources appropriately to bring that extra edge to the business, like new industry software or new equipment that will better serve customer needs.  Ultimately, you don't want a partner who can't add value to your business. Harlan enjoys access to a vast business network, with experience in dozens of industries.  If your business needs the expertise from our network, you can expect Harlan to bring the right resources and experience to your company to support its growth and success.

While Harlan has invested in a variety of industries, we focus on companies in manufacturing, consumer products, value-add distribution, animal health, industrial and environmental services, health living/fitness and B2B services. In most cases these businesses generate $5MM-$100MM in revenue.