What STS Capital Partners does

STS Capital Partners is a global sell-side M&A advisory firm founded in 2003 by Rob Follows and operated under the legal entity STS Capital Partners M&A Advisers Inc, governed by New York law and headquartered in Bridgetown, Barbados with a remote-first operating model. The firm serves entrepreneurial business owners, primarily at privately-held businesses with annual revenues of $50M and above, by acting as exclusive sell-side advisor to design and run strategic M&A processes, identify global strategic buyers outside the client's industry radius, negotiate maximum value through soft-auction dynamics, and support post-exit legacy planning. Service delivery is led personally by Managing Directors distributed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Asia, and South America, supported by an extended Global Advisor Network of more than 6,000 professionals who refer opportunities and introduce buyers in exchange for referral fees on successful closes.

The firm's underlying platform combines a proprietary global buyer and advisor database with a set of branded methodologies - Selling to Strategics, Rembrandts in the Attic, the Owners Outcomes Exercise, and the Roll Up to Sell growth program - layered with ValueMax preparation engagements run 12-36 months pre-sale and Success to Significance legacy planning post-close. Revenue is generated through success-based and quote-based M&A advisory fees on closed strategic sales, ValueMax and Strategic Consulting fees, training/certification revenue from the Selling to Strategics Exit Guide Certification Course, referral fees paid into the advisor channel, and ancillary intellectual-property sales such as co-authored books.

The go-to-market motion is sales-led and enterprise field-sales in nature, anchored in deep relationships with the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and World Presidents Organization (WPO) and reinforced by thought leadership across owned content, third-party media (Kiplinger, Global Family Office Consortium), podcasts, and live events. Leadership transitioned in 2023 when founder Rob Follows moved from CEO to Chairman and Sean Friday assumed the Executive Vice Chairman & CEO role; day-to-day financial stewardship sits with CFO & CIO diane gray-smith, and North American senior relationships are led by Andy Harris as President, North American Strategies.

Name

STS Capital Partners

Legal name

STS Capital Partners M&A Advisers Inc

Website

https://stscapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

STS Capital Partners is a global, remote-first sell-side M&A advisory firm founded in 2003 that acts as exclusive advisor to mid-market entrepreneurial business owners, primarily at $50M+ revenue companies, designing strategic-buyer sale processes, running proprietary methodologies, and supporting post-exit legacy planning across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Asia, and South America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

M&A Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Sell-Side M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Buy-Side M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAB), Cross-Border M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAH)

Keywords

• Sell-side M&A advisory
• Business exit advisory
• Strategic buyer targeting
• Private business sales
• Merger acquisition advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Bridgetown

HQ country

Barbados

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Sell-Side M&A Advisory Fees: Core professional services revenue generated by acting as exclusive sell-side advisor to entrepreneurial business owners, charging fees for designing strategic M&A processes, identifying and approaching strategic buyers, negotiating maximum valuation, and supporting legacy planning. Transaction-based/performance-linked economics typical of M&A advisory engagements.
2. Advisor Referral Fees: Monetary referral fees paid to members of the global STS Advisor network on successful deal closes, in exchange for referring sell-side opportunities, introducing buyers, and providing deal-specific expertise.
3. ValueMax and Strategic Consulting Engagements: Pre-sale advisory and value-enhancement consulting engagements (ValueMax) and broader strategic consulting services that prepare businesses for exit 12-36 months before going to market, generating professional services fees separate from the ultimate M&A mandate.
4. Selling to Strategics Exit Guide Certification Course: Self-paced 10-hour certification course completed over 8 weeks for professionals working with entrepreneurs and privately-owned businesses with annual revenues over $50 million; provides an additional training/revenue stream.
5. Book & Intellectual Capital Sales: Sales of co-authored books such as 'The Extraordinary Exit' by Andy Harris, a practical guide for entrepreneurs maximizing valuation and navigating life after a successful sale.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

STS Capital Partners acts as an exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to entrepreneurial business owners, designing strategic M&A processes that identify and approach strategic buyers (often outside the client's industry), negotiate maximum financial value via a soft-auction or pre-emptive-offer framework, and support owners through ValueMax value preparation, Quality of Earnings advisory, and post-exit Success to Significance legacy planning. The firm operates a remote-first global model with Managing Directors across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Asia, supported by a 6,000+ professional advisor network.

Product overview

STS Capital Partners is a global sell-side M&A advisory firm operating as a single integrated professional services platform rather than a packaged software product. The platform is anchored by three flagship service lines — Sell-Side Advisory, Maximizing Value, and Legacy Planning — with each line composed of named modules: Selling to Strategics™, Pre-Emptive Offers, Roll Up to Sell, ValueMax, Strategic Divestiture, Alternative Exit Types (including ESOP and IPO advisory), Strategic Consulting, and the Rembrandts in the Attic™ value-discovery framework. Proprietary methodologies such as the Owners Outcomes Exercise and the Quality of Earnings (QoE) advisory layer onto these modules to support clients across the exit journey. The firm extends this offering through the Selling to Strategics™ Exit Guide Certification Course, the STS Advisor Program (6,000+ professionals), and the STS Impact Partners charitable network, all of which feed into the Success to Significance™ client program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ValueMax: STS's strategic preparation service helping owners increase their business's value before going to market, typically 12-36 months before a sale.
• Roll Up to Sell
• Selling to Strategics
• Owners Outcomes Exercise
• Success to Significance

Products and services

• Sell-Side Advisory Exclusive sell-side M&A advisory engagement guiding entrepreneurial business owners through strategic buyer targeting, pre-emptive offer evaluation, and expert deal negotiation to achieve an Extraordinary Exit. Designed for founder-led private businesses pursuing a strategic sale.
• Selling to Strategics™ Proprietary sell-side methodology that targets strategic buyers who recognize integrated value beyond financial multiples, designed to deliver 20-40% premiums over market value with 6-12 month process timelines versus IPO lock-up periods.
• Rembrandts in the Attic™ Approach Proprietary value-discovery framework that surfaces hidden strategic value drivers (intellectual property, market positioning, customer relationships, complementary product lines) that elevate a business's valuation beyond historical financial multiples.
• Owners Outcomes Exercise Structured pre-process exercise in which STS works with owners to independently define required and preferred financial, structural, and legacy outcomes before going to market, providing a decision anchor during negotiations.
• ValueMax Strategic preparation service running 12-36 months before a planned exit, focused on operational efficiency, revenue quality, management depth, and other factors that drive strategic buyer interest and valuation.
• Roll Up to Sell Guided 2-4 year growth program in which STS helps clients acquire complementary businesses to increase market share and valuation ahead of a strategic exit, exemplified by a 700% expected value increase in a telecom case.
• Pre-Emptive Offers Service Specialty advisory service for evaluating and negotiating unsolicited pre-emptive offers, creating a competitive soft auction to ensure sellers achieve maximum value even with a single motivated buyer (e.g., 60% higher closing multiple vs initial offer for Project Wilbur).
• Alternative Exit Types Advisory (ESOP, IPO, EOT) Comparative advisory service evaluating ESOPs, strategic sales, IPOs, and Employee Ownership Trusts, helping owners select the exit structure that best aligns with valuation, legacy, and employee outcomes.
• Quality of Earnings (QoE) Analysis Advisory Advisory service guiding clients through commissioning third-party QoE analyses that normalize EBITDA, streamline due diligence (potentially reducing seller effort by ~80%), and strengthen financial positioning during M&A transactions.
• Strategic Divestiture Service Advisory service for selling non-core divisions, assets, or subsidiaries to sharpen strategic focus, unlock capital, and prepare for a future Extraordinary Exit of the core business.
• Legacy Planning Post-sale advisory service helping clients reinvest exit proceeds through philanthropic vehicles such as foundations, trusts, and other giving structures as part of STS's Success to Significance™ program.
• Strategic Consulting Pre-transaction advisory covering value enhancement planning, growth strategy, and M&A readiness, typically engaged 1-3 years before a sale to prepare the business for maximum value.
• Selling to Strategics™ Exit Guide Certification Course Self-paced 10-hour certification course delivered over 8 weeks for professionals working with entrepreneurs and privately-owned businesses with annual revenues over $50 million; serves both as training and as a top-of-funnel channel for the global Advisor network.
• The Extraordinary Exit (book by Andy Harris) Practical guide co-authored by STS President of North American Strategies Andy Harris, designed to help entrepreneurs maximize valuation and navigate life after a successful sale.

Quantifiable outcome

• 700% expected value increase delivered for telecommunications client via Roll Up to Sell (Project Quattro)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship public partnership announcement, core long-standing community and pipeline partnership, core channel for deal origination and buyer introductions and flagship social/legacy partner.

• ReLeaf Financialflagship public partnership announcementStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2026ReLeaf Financial announced a strategic partnership with STS Capital Partners, under which STS Capital will serve as ReLeaf's exclusive advisor as the company pursues strategic partners and investors ahead of its growth milestones. The announcement coincides with ReLeaf preparing to close its seed investment round and advancing discussions with major telecommunications operators that have signed Letters of Intent to adopt the company's patented Proof of Intent technology for distributed transaction validation.
• Young Presidents Organization (YPO)core long-standing community and pipeline partnershipGTM or Marketing PartnerMultiple STS Managing Directors are active YPO members; Andy Harris facilitates the YPO annual three-day M&A Playbook symposium, Rob Follows was founding chapter chair and former Chair of the Global Deal Network, Brenda Jacobsen served on YPO Global International Board 2022–2025, and Kempten Schwab is SEC Regional Area Officer for the Southeast US and Caribbean. STS leverages YPO membership as a core GTM channel into the global community of chief executives and business owners.
• STS Global Advisor Network (6,000+ professionals)core channel for deal origination and buyer introductionsChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExtended network of STS Global Experts & Advisors comprising 6,000+ professionals worldwide; Advisors refer sell-side opportunities, introduce potential buyers for live mandates, provide expertise on deal teams, and receive referral fees on successful closes in exchange for ongoing collaboration.
• Altruvest Charitable Servicesflagship social/legacy partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerRob Follows is founding Chairman of Altruvest Charitable Services, a Canadian charity that provides training and tools to improve the performance of local charities. Altruvest has contributed over $10 million since its establishment. The Success to Significance™ program links STS client exits to philanthropic capital deployed through Altruvest and similar organizations.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lincoln International: Global mid-market M&A advisory firm with a strong sell-side practice serving private business owners and private equity. Closely comparable business model to STS — middle-market focus, cross-border execution, and operator-style senior bankers — and a primary competitor for STS's target deal size.
• Livingstone Partners: International mid-market M&A advisor with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. Directly comparable as a cross-border sell-side advisor competing for the same entrepreneur-led middle-market mandates.
• Generational Equity: US-focused M&A advisory firm dedicated exclusively to selling privately-held businesses to strategic and financial buyers. Closely comparable to STS in target client (mid-market founders) and exclusive sell-side positioning, though with a primarily domestic US footprint.
• Morgan & Westfield: M&A advisory firm specializing in selling privately-held, owner-operated businesses to strategic buyers. Directly comparable as a sell-side exclusive advisor competing for similar lower-middle-market entrepreneur exit mandates.
• Stout (Investment Banking): Global advisory firm with a dedicated M&A practice serving middle-market companies and entrepreneurs. Directly comparable business model and target client base as STS, often competing for the same sell-side engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank with a large Financial Advisory Services business covering M&A across middle-market and large-cap. Comparable as a competitor for sell-side mandates in the $50M+ segment STS targets, with broader sector coverage and balance-sheet capabilities.
• BDO USA (M&A Advisory): Top-tier accounting and advisory network with a global M&A advisory practice serving middle-market private businesses. Comparable as a competitor for sell-side mandates in STS's $50M+ segment.
• Robert W. Baird & Co (Global Investment Banking): Large diversified financial services firm with a substantial middle-market M&A practice. Comparable as a competitor for sell-side mandates in STS's core $50M-$1B revenue range, with broader capital-markets capabilities.
• Triple Pundit (M&A / Exit Advisory Adjacency — using Kroll as a comparable): Global risk and financial advisory firm with a substantial M&A practice providing sell-side advisory to mid-market and large-cap clients. Comparable as a broader incumbent offering overlapping M&A services and competing for STS's enterprise mandates.
• William Blair (Investment Banking): Global investment bank with a middle-market M&A advisory practice focused on sell-side mandates for private and private-equity-owned businesses. Comparable as a competitor for STS's middle-market founder-led exits.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=NchFyQSeuMg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sts-capital-partners

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about STS Capital Partners