Explore insights from Veritac Group on Revenue Operations, private equity growth strategies, and go-to-market excellence. Our experts share proven tactics, technology integration tips, and strategic guidance to accelerate revenue and maximize enterprise value.
Author: John Auer, Veritac Group Managing Partner
For private equity firms, the first 100 days -- or approximately 16 weeks -- following the acquisition of a mid-market B2B company are critical. These early days set the tone for the investment lifecycle and can make or break the success of the deal. Mid-market B2B firms are big enough to have entrenched processes, but small enough to benefit significantly from operational improvements.
A well-executed 100-day plan will identify key risks, unlock value quickly, and align stakeholders toward a unified vision. Untouched, early mistakes by the sales and marketing teams can destroy value creation efforts. This article provides a detailed guide to navigating that pivotal period.
Here is an overview of a highly effective approach with recommended timing:
Prior to Close
Before the deal closes, ensure you update the original investment thesis with the latest due diligence findings. Understand the drivers of value creation—be it geographic expansion, pricing optimization, operational efficiency, or a product portfolio shift.
There were likely some assumptions made during the diligence process, which you will need to validate. Additionally, you’ll want to reassess the value creation levers, including cost savings and growth opportunities, to ensure they align with the objectives of the portfolio company.
Assemble the Integration Team
Create a team composed of internal PE professionals, operating partners, and third-party advisors with relevant B2B sector expertise. Assign a dedicated project manager to run point on all activities, ideally using a centralized tracking system (Asana, Monday, etc., or even a simple spreadsheet) to keep the entire team informed of progress and bottlenecks.
Weeks 1–2: A Rapid Assessment
Consider setting up a weekly Management Alignment meeting. Immediately post-close, have the appropriate people on your team meet with the senior leadership. We caution against introducing drastic changes at this point; your goal is to establish trust, open lines of communication, and align on the shared vision.
One of the best ways to align future decisions is to participate in refining the investment thesis. While the Portco leadership team may notice challenges, the Integration Team and Portco Leadership should proceed patiently with clear expectations.
In our experience, the most difficult area of alignment is reporting and forecasting, particularly if the new acquisition was previously Founder/CEO managed. In this situation, they will likely be ill-prepared to provide the transparency needed to govern the company. In many cases, they may not currently track key metrics of the business. Unaddressed, this deficiency will become a growing issue that profoundly divides Ownership and the Portco’s Leadership.
Beyond the obvious financial reporting changes, the Portco may need to make extensive changes to its CRM system to enable tracking and also provide additional training to licensed CRM users. As the saying goes, “you can’t fix what you can’t measure.”
Launch a 100-Day Plan
Present a formal 100-day plan that includes immediate priorities, value creation initiatives, and a roadmap for the first 3–6 months. The plan's rollout will reveal to investors the effectiveness of the leadership team. Simply put, the more “pushback” you receive, the less likely you are to realize future alignment. When you reach an agreement on Key Performance Indicators and how/when those will be reported, you are on your way.
Now is the best time to identify the company’s value drivers and weak spots. If the Portco’s operational processes are holding them back, what can be done and how soon? Profitable scalability should be the guiding principle for making resource investments.
Listening Tours
The PE team and the CEO conduct “listening tours” with middle management and frontline employees. These conversations build rapport, unearth institutional knowledge, and monitor the pace of change at the company. In addition, they will help identify internal champions, who can be valuable for future needs.
Weeks 3–6: Deep Dive and Diagnostics
Evaluate the Management Team
Now is the time to objectively assess the leadership bench. Is the team capable of delivering on the value creation plan? Where are the gaps? If the culture allows, consider 360 reviews or bottom-up evaluations. Chances are, there are leaders in place who can’t or won’t scale the company in alignment with the 100-day plan. Although it is unusual to find active, vocal dissent, it is common to find people in key positions who will represent long-term bottlenecks. Worse, you will get someone who says they agree, but don’t actually or actively support the direction your team is driving. This situation may call for preparing a succession or augmentation plan.
Commercial Deep Dives
Perform in-depth diagnostics across key functions. The goal is to identify low-hanging fruit and long-term transformation areas. The GTM function may have evolved without an understanding of the need to balance Marketing, Sales, and Account Management. Years of underinvestment may have severely limited the GTM function. Taking a deep dive into the current GTM process will identify gaps and roadblocks and aid in prioritizing efforts.
The good news is that 80% of what you need to know about the health of the GTM team and their processes, you will find in their CRM. If there is a lack of discipline with this tool, you know where to start. Develop the sales and marketing processes, embed these processes in the CRM and marketing automation tools, set standards of acceptable performance, and coach and manage the process. Always make the expectations clear and monitor compliance.
Conduct a churn analysis to identify lagging indicators of deficiencies. Build a revenue attribution model and a cost-to-acquire/cost-to-serve model to discover additional issues along the road to revenue
Weeks 6-10: Take Action
Make “No Regret” Moves
Early wins build momentum. Focus on changes that deliver quick value with low risk.
Evaluating the productivity expectations of sales and marketing personnel against industry benchmarks is relatively easy (Several surveys are published every year G-Squared, BenchmarkIT, Pavillion ) – if there is an obvious issue, address it immediately. These moves send a message that the company is entering a new chapter of discipline and performance.
To improve profitability, consider adjusting the pricing of unprofitable customers. There is no faster way to make revenue and profit goals than through increased prices to the installed base.
Launch Strategic Initiatives
Start executing on the long-term initiatives identified in the investment thesis. Prioritize those that are time-sensitive or foundational. The most common way to ignite sales and drive the pipeline is through a salesforce effectiveness program. Is there a playbook with scripts, common objection responses, and activity standards? If not, it is time to document these to drive sales effectiveness.
Communicate Transparently
Employees, customers, and other stakeholders need consistent updates. Silence leads to speculation and ultimately to mistrust. Successful investors we have worked with hold biweekly internal updates, hold town halls to share progress, and even meet with top customers to reinforce commitment.
This transparency builds trust and keeps morale high during periods of change.
Weeks 10–14 – Institutionalize the Future
Install Robust Reporting and Governance
Mid-market companies often lack real-time, actionable insights. Implementing dashboards and governance practices will support data-driven decisions. Dictate a cadence for board and operating review meetings, and introduce rolling forecasts and variance analysis. This level of discipline provides early warnings and better control over performance.
Define the Long-Term Operating Model
Clarify how the company will scale, including organizational structure, tech stack, and core capabilities. Update the organizational chart and develop a hiring plan to support it. Based on resource availability, build a roadmap for systems upgrades or integrations. Finally, ensure there are clearly defined decision-making protocols – otherwise, the company will revert to what they have done in the past. This step is crucial if the company is a platform investment or expected to make bolt-on acquisitions.
Weeks 14–16 – Recalibrate and Reaffirm
Measure Progress Against the Plan
Take stock of what’s been accomplished and what gaps remain. Some initiatives may need re-prioritization or re-scoping. Monitor the progress on financial and operational KPIs. How are they performing against 100-day plan milestones? Provide candid and prompt feedback. As one senior Operating Partner used to say to our team, “Good news fast, bad news faster!”
Build a Cultural Foundation
Don’t underestimate the importance of culture in value creation. A mid-market B2B company likely has deep roots, which means that you must implement change respectfully. Chances are that someone’s world will be turned upside down by the changes. You must recognize early adopters and the cultural leaders of the company. If you align them, operational excellence is sustainable.
Final Thoughts: Laying the Foundation for Long-Term Value
The first 100 days are just the beginning, but they are disproportionately impactful. For private equity firms, this period requires speed, focus, and empathy. The goal is to stabilize the company, align leadership, and launch initiatives that will drive long-term returns.
A successful 100-day plan doesn’t just deliver early wins—it creates a blueprint for the people, processes, and tools that will lead to sustainable value creation.
Conclusion
Mid-market B2B companies present some of the richest opportunities in private equity. They are often under-optimized, fragmented, and ripe for transformation. But to unlock that potential, the first 100 days must be intentional, strategic, and grounded in partnership with the portfolio company’s leadership.
By following this, or a similar roadmap, PE firms can move beyond being just capital providers to becoming true value creation partners.
About Veritac Group
Veritac Group works with PE-owned portfolio companies' sales and marketing teams to improve their go-to-market effectiveness and efficiency. Our consulting team allows those clients to realize their full potential.
