What Purpose First Advisors does

Purpose First Advisors is a boutique business advisory firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, founded by Christy Maxfield in 2017. The firm delivers strategic growth, succession, change management, and exit planning services on a monthly retainer basis to established business owners across professional services, small-scale specialty manufacturing, construction, hospitality, and retail. Its core offerings are organized as four pillars: Strategic Business Advisors (ongoing growth and profitability advisory), Business Succession Planning (leadership transition and talent development), Change Management Consulting (organizational transformation via 90-day sprints), and Business Exit Planning (valuation, tax, and ownership transition preparation). The firm does not develop proprietary technology products; its differentiation rests on a proprietary four-phase advisory methodology (Discovery & Defining Success, Strategy Development, Action & Execution, Measuring Success), the founder's CEPA and Vistage Trusted Advisor credentials, and deep immersion in client goals across personal, financial, and business dimensions.

The business model is a subscription retainer with biweekly one-hour Zoom sessions plus email and text support between sessions, and a minimum three-month engagement commitment. The firm reports most clients work with it for two years or more, creating relationship-based revenue stickiness. Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, beginning with a discovery call described as 'a real conversation, not a sales pitch,' and supported by a content-marketing engine spanning an Ideas blog (40+ articles, 2018-2026), YouTube, LinkedIn, email newsletter, and the co-hosted Entrepreneurially Thinking podcast. Delivery is fully virtual, allowing national reach from the St. Louis base, though the primary marketing emphasis is on the St. Louis region.

Purpose First Advisors is privately held and founder-owned, with no external institutional funding or parent company. The core team numbers 5-6 people, supplemented by a coordinated ecosystem of estate attorneys, tax advisors, wealth advisors, transaction attorneys, and bankers mobilized around client engagements. Recognitions include the 2025 Enterprising Women of the Year Award Champion (Enterprising Women Magazine) and Top Business Advisor (St. Louis Small Business Monthly). Founder Christy Maxfield also teaches entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University in St. Louis, reinforcing regional credibility and pipeline access.

Note: the firmographic input lists year_founded as 1997, while multiple source materials consistently report that Christy Maxfield launched Purpose First Advisors in 2017. The 2017 date is treated as authoritative based on the most specific and consistent primary sources.

Name

Purpose First Advisors

Legal name

Purpose First Advisors

Website

https://purposefirstadvisors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Purpose First Advisors is a St. Louis-based boutique business advisory firm founded in 2017 by Christy Maxfield, providing strategic growth, succession, change management, and exit planning services on a monthly retainer to established SMB owners across professional services, manufacturing, hospitality, and retail sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Consulting and Advisory

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA)

Keywords

• Business advisory services
• Exit planning consulting
• Succession planning services
• Change management consulting
• Strategic growth advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Business Advisory Consulting Services: Monthly retainer-based advisory services providing ongoing strategic guidance to business owners on growth, succession planning, exit planning, and change management. Engagements typically involve regular working sessions (biweekly one-hour meetings via Zoom) with email and text support between sessions. Minimum engagement commitment of three months, with most clients working with the firm for two years or more.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Purpose First Advisors is a boutique business advisory firm that delivers ongoing strategic advisory, succession planning, change management, and exit planning services to founders and owners of established small and mid-sized businesses. Engagements are retainer-based with biweekly one-hour Zoom working sessions plus email and text support between sessions, and require a minimum three-month commitment.

Product overview

Purpose First Advisors is a business consulting and advisory firm offering a unified suite of professional services centered on strategic growth advisory, succession planning, change management, and exit planning. The company operates on a monthly retainer model with biweekly advisory sessions. Services include Strategic Business Advisors (core growth and profitability advisory), Business Succession Planning (leadership transition and talent development), Change Management Consulting (organizational transformation), and Business Exit Planning (transition preparation and business valuation). The firm primarily serves founders and business owners in professional services, specialty manufacturing, construction, hospitality, and retail industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Business Advisors
• Business Succession Planning
• Change Management Consulting
• Business Exit Planning

Quantifiable outcome

• 8x net income increase in under a year (veterinary practice case study)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SeafoamminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSeafoam is the website design and development partner responsible for the Purpose First Advisors website (seafoammedia.com). This is a vendor relationship for marketing/brand presence rather than a core business partnership.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EOS Worldwide: Franchise network of EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) implementers who provide hands-on advisory to SMB owners on vision, traction, and organizational health. Highly comparable to Purpose First Advisors on customer base, delivery model, and outcome-driven methodology.
• Scaling Up (Gazelles International): Global coaching and consulting network implementing Verne Harnish's Scaling Up growth framework with SMBs and mid-market companies. Comparable because both deliver recurring advisory focused on growth strategy, execution, and operational discipline for established owner-led businesses.
• FocalPoint Business Coaching: Franchise network of business coaches and advisors serving SMB owners on growth, leadership, and performance improvement. Directly comparable boutique advisory model with similar target customer (established owner-led businesses) and engagement structure.
• The Growth Coach: Franchise of business and sales coaches targeting SMB owners across industries with strategy, sales, and team development services. Comparable boutique advisory model serving similar owner-led customer profile.
• Renaissance Executive Forums: Peer group network for CEOs and business owners offering monthly facilitated forums with individual advisory support. Comparable in combining peer accountability with one-on-one executive advisory for owner-operators navigating growth and transition.
• Tiger 21: Peer group organization for high-net-worth investors and business owners, many of whom have recently exited or are planning to exit their companies. Comparable audience overlap with Purpose First Advisors' established SMB owner segment, particularly on exit readiness and wealth preservation.
• Strategic Coach: Dan Sullivan's entrepreneurial coaching firm serving founders and executives with quarterly workshops and structured tools for growth. Comparable target market (successful entrepreneurs wanting to scale and free themselves from the business) and similar high-touch, retainer-style engagement model.
• CEO Coaching International: Executive coaching firm working with CEOs and founders on leadership, growth strategy, and exit/scale decisions. Comparable founder-led advisory approach and recurring engagement model for established owner-operators.

Broad incumbents

• Vistage Worldwide: Largest peer advisory network for SME CEOs, offering CEO peer groups, executive coaching, and speaker events. Vistage is comparable because Purpose First Advisors' founder is a Vistage Trusted Advisor, and both serve established SMB owners navigating growth and transition.

Emerging players

• Predictable Success (Les McKeown): Advisory practice helping SMB owners diagnose organizational lifecycle stage and implement growth plans. Comparable niche focus on owner-led businesses navigating the transition from founder-dependent to scalable operations, with overlapping exit planning content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@purposefirstadvisorscm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/purpose-first-advisors

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 Purpose First Advisors