Build Scale Prosper

What Build Scale Prosper does

Build Scale Prosper is a privately held business advisory firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2015. The firm serves the ownership lifecycle of privately held U.S. businesses across three integrated service lines: Advisory Services (hands-on engagements spanning build, buy, and exit paths), Education Programs (cohort-based curricula including Built to Choose, Your Next Move, Growth through Acquisition, and Founders Leverage Lab), and Capital Services (deal-structure and funding support for growth, acquisition, and transition). Underlying methodology rests on the Value Builder System, a diagnostic framework that scores companies across eight drivers of value (revenue quality, differentiation, growth potential, key person dependency, customer concentration, geographic diversification, technology, and strategic assets), paired with the Personal Readiness Assessment (PREScore) that measures four non-financial dimensions of exit readiness. The assessment dataset spans over 90,000 analyzed businesses.

The firm operates a hybrid go-to-market model: an education-first motion with limited-cohort virtual programs serving as the awareness-to-action engine, complemented by direct advisory engagements initiated via strategy sessions, a formal Advisor Referral Program (CPAs, attorneys, wealth advisors, M&A professionals), and community partnerships with civic and economic-development organizations. Geographic reach currently covers the Chicago metropolitan area and Arizona, with the Arizona presence anchored by a Venture Café Phoenix collaboration delivering the "Built to Choose Foundations" summer series. Revenue streams include professional-services fees for advisory and capital work, recurring fees for educational cohort enrollments, and referral-based affiliate economics; pricing is not publicly disclosed and the firm reports no institutional funding or parent ownership.

The firm competes on practitioner depth — operators who have served as founders, buyers, sellers, and advisors — and on an explicit willingness to recommend non-transaction outcomes, a stance uncommon in transaction-compensated advisory categories. Customer segments span four distinct personas: business owners and operators (primary), acquirers and investors, communities and economic-development organizations, and professional advisors. Headcount is reported at 1–10 with no disclosed management team publicly listed beyond a single named "head of client solutions" role; revenue, funding, and customer counts are not publicly disclosed. The product portfolio additionally includes assessment tools (Value Builder Score, PREScore), a library of eBooks, and the Acquisition Builder System, which positions the firm as an outsourced corporate development partner for acquirers.

Name

Build Scale Prosper

Legal name

Build Scale Prosper

Website

https://buildscaleprosper.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Build Scale Prosper is a Chicago-based advisory firm serving privately held U.S. businesses and their ownership ecosystem with value-building, growth-through-acquisition, and ownership-transition services, combining cohort education, hands-on advisory, and capital advisory using the Value Builder System framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Advisory Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

Keywords

• Business value advisory
• Exit planning services
• Acquisition strategy consulting
• Ownership transition advisory
• M&A advisory firm

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Educational Cohort Programs: Fee-based cohort programs including Built to Choose, Growth through Acquisition, Your Next Move, and Founders Leverage Lab. Programs delivered virtually with limited cohort sizes.
2. Advisory Services: Hands-on advisory engagements for owners building value, growing through acquisition, or preparing for exit. Starts with strategy session and moves to ongoing advisory partnerships.
3. Capital Advisory: Capital and deal-structure support for growth, acquisitions, and transitions. Helps align strategy, funding, and transaction design.
4. Advisor Referral Program: Formal referral program for CPAs, attorneys, wealth advisors, and M&A professionals. Clear economics for partner introductions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Build Scale Prosper is a privately held business advisory firm that helps owners of privately held businesses build value, grow through acquisition, and transfer ownership on better terms. Its offering combines hands-on advisory engagements, cohort-based education programs (such as Built to Choose, Your Next Move, Growth through Acquisition, and Founders Leverage Lab), and capital/deal-structure support, all organized around the full ownership lifecycle of build, buy, and exit.

Product overview

Build Scale Prosper is a business advisory firm that offers a unified platform of advisory, education, and capital services organized around the ownership lifecycle: building value, growing through acquisition, and transferring ownership. The core offering consists of Advisory Services (hands-on guidance across build/buy/exit paths), Education Programs (cohort-based curricula including Built to Choose, Your Next Move, Growth through Acquisition, and Founders Leverage Lab), and Capital Services (funding strategy and deal structure support). These are supported by assessment tools (Value Builder Score, Value Builder PREScore), downloadable eBooks (The 8 Key Drivers of Company Value, Inside the Mind of an Acquirer, The Rainmaker's Dilemma, The Exit Checklist), and the Acquisition Builder System — a three-phase framework for acquirers covering thesis design, pipeline building, and post-close value creation. The portfolio also includes community programs and special initiatives such as the Venture Cafe Summer Series. The firm positions itself as serving the full ownership ecosystem: owners, acquirers, advisors, and communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advisory Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies scoring in top tier of Value Builder System receive acquisition offers averaging 7.1x higher than typical business

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Venture Café PhoenixcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Venture Café Phoenix to deliver the Built to Choose summer series - a six-session virtual cohort program for Arizona business owners. The program focuses on building business value, reducing owner dependency, and creating strategic options before transition decisions are forced.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Generational Equity: M&A advisory firm specializing in selling privately held businesses in the $10M-$250M range. Direct peer serving the same mid-market owner exit market, with a transaction-led rather than advisory-led model.
• Strategic Coach: Coaching firm serving entrepreneurs and owner-operators with structured quarterly programs focused on growth, freedom, and team performance. Direct peer in entrepreneur coaching/advisory for owner-operators targeting similar mid-market customer base with subscription cohort-style engagements.
• FE International: M&A advisor for SaaS, e-commerce, and content businesses providing valuation, deal sourcing, and exit services. Comparable in providing acquisition and exit advisory to privately held businesses, though focused on technology-enabled businesses rather than traditional mid-market operators.
• Value Builder System: Provider of the assessment framework Build Scale Prosper is built on; licenses the Value Builder Score and PREScore assessments. Closely aligned methodology and overlapping customer base of privately held business owners, though Value Builder System is a software/framework licensor while BSP delivers advisory services on top.
• Pinnacle Business Guides: Network of experienced business advisors and exit-planning professionals serving privately held mid-market companies. Direct peer in owner advisory and exit planning using collaborative, multi-advisor delivery to small and mid-sized businesses.
• Succession Institute: Advisory and education firm specializing in succession planning for privately held business owners and family enterprises. Direct peer in the owner-transition and legacy planning segment BSP's Your Next Move program addresses.
• EOS Worldwide: Provider of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) — a set of tools and concepts implemented by EOS Implementers at mid-market companies. Direct peer delivering structured operating frameworks to privately held businesses seeking growth, accountability, and owner independence.
• Gazelles (Scaling Up): Global growth advisory firm built on Verne Harnish's Scaling Up methodology, serving mid-market companies with coaching and tools for growth, execution, and exit. Direct peer in business growth advisory for owner-operators preparing for scale or transition.
• Exit Planning Institute: Education and certification organization for exit-planning advisors serving privately held business owners preparing for transition. Direct peer in the owner-exit advisory space, sharing focus on succession readiness and value-driver frameworks.

Broad incumbents

• Clark Schaefer Hackett: Mid-market accounting and business advisory firm providing M&A, transaction advisory, succession, and growth consulting. Broad incumbent operating across many of the same owner advisory and exit-planning services BSP delivers, with deeper staffing and broader service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/buildscale

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Build Scale Prosper