Friction is the silent tax — process drag, people in the wrong seats, cash leaking out the sides, technology that doesn't actually work. We name it. We remove it. Operator work, done by an operator.
When a business is stuck, it doesn't need another report — it needs someone to take the seat and run it. We step in as interim or fractional CEO or CFO, stabilize the operation, fix what's bleeding, and hand back a business that runs. Operator work, done by an operator: a real logistics turnaround in Ohio with 100+ drivers, M&A on both sides, thirty years running real companies.
Best fit: stalled growth, distress, ownership transition, or a leadership gap you need filled now. Typical engagement 3–12 months.
Most businesses pay a tax they can't see — duplicate vendors, broken handoffs, headcount in the wrong places, processes that grew by accident. We audit the whole operation, find the leakage, and rebuild the process so the money stops walking out the door. You only pay the success fee on savings we can actually measure.
Most "AI" is theater. Ours is built by people who run operations and know where the time really goes. We scope and oversee; the heavy build is delivered by our sister technology practice. The result is automation that removes real friction — not a demo that impresses for a week and then collects dust.
See the productized tools live at frictionwhisper.com.
Sometimes the founder is the friction. We work one-on-one to sharpen decisions, fix the patterns that slow the business, and lead the way the business needs now. When you're already in a turnaround engagement and the founder is the bottleneck, this is bundled in at no extra charge.
Whether you're buying, selling, or integrating, you want an advisor who has actually done deals — not just modeled them. We advise on both sides, and our fee is tied to the outcome, so we're aligned with the result you want.
Clean, current books are the floor everything else stands on. Our back-office accounting team keeps your books accurate and your numbers ready, billed on a monthly retainer scaled to the complexity of your business.
For investors and operators who need an experienced operator at the table — not a slide deck. We provide board-level, strategic advisory to portfolio companies, fund-of-funds, and family offices, on a monthly retainer.
Tell us where it hurts. We'll name the friction and tell you honestly if we're the right fit.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call