Every business reaches a moment when the next decision matters more than all the ones before it. A founder starts thinking about who comes next. A buyer makes an offer. The numbers turn and the lenders start calling. The family stops agreeing.
We call these inflection points. When one arrives, the hardest part is rarely a shortage of advice. The hardest part is knowing whose advice to trust.
That is why we built Inflection Point Advisory Group. We are an operator-led advisory firm that positions owners, founders and boards to make the right call when the stakes are high. With the launch of our new website, we want to share who we are, how we work, and why we do this work the way we do.
A Family Business Advisor Built by Operators
Our partners did not learn these situations from a textbook. We have run companies, sat on boards, and made these decisions ourselves.
- Ken Ude was President and CEO of six private-equity-backed companies, each facing a critical business challenge. He previously directed the USC Marshall Family Business Program.
- Mark Holdsworth co-founded Tennenbaum Capital Partners. He built it to roughly $9 billion under management before its acquisition by BlackRock in 2018. Today he chairs RF Industries (NASDAQ: RFIL) and sits on the board of Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN).
- Bob Blair led KCB Private Equity for 16 years. He served as lead director of three portfolio companies.
- John Cattau has spent 25 years inside the private funds business, advising family offices on alternative investments and portfolio construction.
Together, we bring judgment formed in the same situations our clients face now. That experience is the difference between hearing about a problem and recognizing it.
Who We Work With
Our primary clients are family enterprises: families that own something together, whether an operating business, a family office, or both. Family ownership makes every major decision harder. A company facing a sale has a dozen credible advisors to call. A family facing the same sale has very few.
We also work with board-led companies, both public and private-equity-backed. For them we come in at board level, as directors, as advisors to the board, or alongside it. We manage the process rather than execute the transaction.
We are based in Pasadena, California, and work with clients across the United States.
The Four Moments We’re Called In
Succession and generational transition (The Handoff). The owner who built something has to hand it to someone who has not done this before. We work out what the transition requires, who is ready, and what the family or board needs to agree on. Then we build the structure that makes it hold. Family business succession planning is some of the most important work we do, and it works best before it becomes urgent.
Selling, or deciding whether to (The Exit). Selling a family business is a one-way decision, usually made by someone who has never sold a company. We help decide whether to sell, what is worth doing first, and who should be at the table. Then we select and manage the bankers, lawyers and advisors through the close.
When something has gone wrong and the clock is running (The Break). Profitability is falling, a covenant test is coming, or the owners have stopped agreeing. We come in at board level, work out what is actually happening, and take charge of the process. That includes hiring and directing the restructuring advisors and counsel.
Standing counsel, before a crisis arrives (The Partnership). Some families and boards would rather not wait for the next crisis. We stay on at the board table, in family meetings, and on the calls before the decision gets made. This is a standing relationship, not a project with a delivery date.
How We Work
We move fast. We dive in quickly and assess what is really happening through objective, fact-finding analysis.
You get the whole bench. Every engagement draws on all four partners, whatever the presenting problem.
We lay out the path plainly. We present the options and name the trade-offs. The decision stays yours.
We lead the team. We select the bankers, lawyers and specialists you need, then manage them through to the close. As one of our partners likes to put it, we are the quarterback of your team.
What Makes Us Different
The partner who takes the call does the work. We have no juniors and no handoffs. Many firms staff engagements with teams working beneath a lead. We work directly with the decision-maker.
Our only interest is your objective. We are a fee-based advisor. We manage no assets, take no commissions, and charge no transaction fees. Our fees do not grow as your assets do. We have run a full sale process for a family business and then advised the client to refinance instead, because that was the right answer.
We span family and corporate. Few firms work with both families and companies in distress. Board service, family transitions and restructuring situations all sit within our experience.
We build relationships that last. Our partners have worked with the same families across successive phases of a generational transition, well past any single decision.
Let’s Talk Before the Moment Arrives
Most inflection points arrive unannounced. The best time to know who you would call is before you need to. If you are an owner, founder, board member, or an advisor to one, we would welcome the conversation.