An American kestrel perched against a clear blue sky

Operator-led · Built for growth

A trusted transition for your life's work.

Partnering with business owners seeking a succession solution that protects their legacy, supports their employees, and positions the company for long-term success.

Start a conversation → What we look for

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$1M–$3M EBITDA U.S.-based Owner-operated after close

The model

A new chapter of growth for what you built

Most owners spend a lifetime building something that works. When it comes time to step back, the choices tend to be thin. Sell to a competitor that absorbs the team and retires the name. Sell to a fund that loads the business with debt and trims costs to hit a return. Or wind it down.

We offer another path. We are looking to commit our own capital and our full attention to one business we can own, operate, and grow for the long term. We plan to keep the name, support the team, and invest in what already works so the owner gets a thoughtful transition and the company gets a committed next chapter.

An American kestrel perched in snow, scanning

Why Kestrel

The North American Kestrel is a small bird of prey that hovers patiently, reads the whole field, and commits to one thing at a time. It is known for precision over force. That is how we work. We take the time to understand a business deeply, move with focus rather than scale, and commit fully once the fit is right.

Why partner with us

What you can count on

Operators at the helm

We step in to lead the company full time from day one, physically present in the office with the team every day. You are handing the business to people who will run it themselves.

Growth, not extraction

We reinvest profits back into the business to build it for the years ahead. Our decisions serve the lasting health of the company, not a fee or a quick flip.

Your legacy carries forward

Your employees, your customers, and the name you built all carry forward. We learn what is working before we change anything, then build on it.

A clear, certain process

We come prepared and move decisively. We do not use diligence as a price-reset exercise. If diligence surfaces something material, we address it directly and transparently.

For owners

Thinking about what comes next?

Start with a confidential conversation about your goals, timeline, and what a good transition would need to protect.

What we look for

Our criteria

Industry-flexible, quality-first. We look for enduring businesses with recurring demand, trusted teams, and durable cash flow.

EBITDA

$1M – $3M

Annual revenue

$5M – $15M

Headquarters

United States

Consistent cash flow positivity

Ideally several years of healthy margins and stable positive cash flows.

Predictable, recurring revenue

Long-standing customer relationships with recurring revenue or repeated buying behavior.

An owner ready to transition

A founder or family looking to step back, with a team that can carry the daily operations.

A trusted reputation

Known for quality and well regarded in its market.

Primary thesis

Buy a durable service business where customers rely on complex physical or digital systems, then become the trusted operating memory for those assets.

Maintenance, service history, compliance, replacement timing, and operating data are all places where better systems can deepen customer trust. That said, great businesses come in many shapes and sizes, and we want to hear about anything that meets our top-level requirements.

Transition process

How a conversation becomes a handover

Confidential introduction Letter of intent Coordinated diligence

Introductory meeting

A short, confidential conversation to understand your business, your goals, and your timing. No materials are required for the first discussion.

Mutual fit assessment

If there is alignment, we review a focused set of financial and operating details, then give clear feedback on whether we are a serious fit.

Letter of Intent

We put a straightforward proposal in writing, grounded in real performance, transition goals, and a structure we believe can close.

Formal due diligence

A coordinated review across financial, legal, tax, technology, and commercial diligence, run discreetly and built to avoid disrupting the business.

Deal closing and handover

We close with a transition plan, communicate what is staying steady, and step into day-to-day leadership with the team.

A clear comparison

How we differ

	Operator-ledKestrel Growth Partners	Financial buyerPrivate equity	Corporate buyerStrategic acquirer
Time horizon	Patient, with none of the built-in pressures that force a quick sale	Three to five years by design, then resale	Highly variable, subject to a larger corporation's priorities
Who runs it	High-energy owner-operators, on site	A hired executive reporting to the fund	Folded into existing management
Your team	Retained and invested in	Often restructured to cut costs	Frequently consolidated
Your name and brand	Kept and built on	Maintained until exit	Usually retired
The process	Direct and confidential with vetted decision-makers you have met face to face	Layered approvals and committees	Driven by corporate strategy
After the sale	Reinvestment and growth	Cost cuts ahead of a resale	Integration into the parent

For the deal table

Owners, brokers, and investors

Owners considering succession, brokers with a relevant opportunity, and investors interested in partnering with us can start with a confidential conversation.

The partners

Who you'll work with

Jack Craddock

Co-founder & Managing Partner

Jack is an engineer and product leader with eight years of experience building consumer-facing AI products in highly technical domains. Most recently, he was Director of Product at Curai Health, where he helped scale the company to tens of millions in revenue. He began his career as a field-deployed petroleum engineer at EOG Resources.

Originally from Houston, Texas, Jack earned a B.S. with distinction in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford University.

LinkedIn →

Charlie Kerr

Co-founder & Managing Partner

Charlie is a commercial leader with experience across enterprise sales, consulting, and middle-market operations. At BCG, he worked in the Principal Investors and Private Equity group on diligence across residential, commercial, and industrial services. Before BCG, he led enterprise sales teams at Darktrace through its 2021 IPO.

Originally from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Charlie holds a Wharton MBA and was an Academic All-American in track and field at Stanford.

LinkedIn →

The two of us have known and trusted each other since freshman year at Stanford. Between us we bring experience across operations, sales, finance, digital product building, AI, and in regulated environments. We have hired and managed teams, carried revenue responsibility, streamlined business processes with technology, and worked inside the kinds of operating systems we now want to improve as owners.

— Jack & Charlie

Contact

Let's talk

If you own a business you care about and are thinking about what comes next, we would value a conversation. Every discussion is confidential and carries no obligation.

hello@kestrelgrowthpartners.com

We treat every conversation, and everything you share with us, in strict confidence.