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Quarterly Dispatch  ·  Issue N° 02  ·  Summer 2026 → Read all of it →
The Second Chair  ·  Newport Beach, CA  · 

Built to runwithout you.

The owner's consigliere. Finance and strategy in one seat. The close, the reporting, the capital allocation — and from there, where the business goes next, how it grows, what it's worth at exit. Every decision runs through the same question: does this make the business worth more?

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Three Lanes

Pick the lane that fits.

Owner-led businesses, . Manufacturing, media, events, production, trades, construction, services. In most engagements the title is CFO. In some, CFO/CSO. The title follows what the business needs.

01

Embedded CFO

The financial and strategic seat. Monthly engagement, personal. I lead every one — no associates, no hand-offs.

See the work → 02

Built to Sell

Exit prep, clean books, deal room, and the financial story buyers want to see. Starts 12–24 months before you go to market.

See the work → 03

ND Founder's CFO

Systems built for how your brain actually runs. DOBE-qualifying businesses welcome. The edge, not the obstacle.

Learn more →
Who This Is For

The owner carrying
the financial seat alone.

You built something real. The books are handled but not driven. No one in the room is asking the questions that make the business worth more. That's the gap. That's the seat.

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  • Revenue between $5M and $100M, owner-operated
  • Manufacturing, fabrication, distribution, construction, or trades
  • Media, events, live production, and multi-territory operations
  • Services businesses with margin and complexity
  • Thinking about an exit in the next 2–5 years
  • DOBE-qualifying founders — neurodivergent-owned businesses
  • Working nationally from Newport Beach, CA
The Work

In the room when
it mattered.

Automotive  ·  Strategic Leadership

Strategic leadership through a high-stakes launch

An early-stage EV company needed more than advice. Stepped in as interim executive leadership, sourced key teams, guided a full company rebrand, and led a 10,000 sq ft public unveiling at a major national auto show. Worked directly with the board through every critical decision.

$30M raise  ·  $1.1B+ valuation

Fabrication & Distribution  ·  Embedded CFO

A true partnership, scaling together

A sharp, hands-on owner with a strong foundation and great team. Came in as strategic partner — custom dashboards, tighter reporting, sharper margins, real-time visibility. The growth that followed is a credit to his vision and crew.

Revenue averaging over $1M/month  ·  Still partnered

Manufacturing  ·  M&A & Integration

Oversaw a full acquisition and integration

A manufacturing company acquired a competitor and needed someone to make it all work. Oversaw the entire M&A process as embedded CFO — integrating both legacy accounting systems, combining departments, aligning reporting.

Full integration post-acquisition  ·  Still partnered

Events  ·  Global Expansion

From regional shop to global company

An events organization we'd been embedded with was acquired by a larger parent and grew into a global operation. Stayed in the room through the entire transition, integrated the finance function into the parent company's worldwide structure.

Global expansion  ·  Still partnered

“

Every decision runs through the same question: does this make the business worth more?

— The Worth More Lens  ·  Rob Baunoch III

Rob Baunoch III, Embedded CFO — Business Dad Energy
The Seat Is Personal

Built from the floor up.
Now in the room.

Theatre kid from Wisconsin. Dad was an automotive executive. I went into media and advertising — first as a producer, then as a finance executive managing projects for some of the biggest brands in the world. I held every seat below and beside the CFO before I sat in it. Both sides of real M&A deals. When I became a dad, the work got sharper and more important.

I'm neurodivergent — pattern recognition that sees across the whole business in ways linear analysis misses. I lead every engagement personally. Not a team. Not a hand-off. Me, in the room.

More about the work →
The Dispatch

Finance. Strategy.
The second chair.

Written for owners who are already doing the work. No jargon. No recap of things you already know. Just the question the room wasn't asking.

Capital Allocation

Where Does the Next Dollar Go?

Most CFOs tell you what already happened. The question that changes a business — the one almost nobody asks — is where the next dollar should go.

Read the essay →
Exit Strategy

Built to Last vs. Built to Sell

The businesses that sell for the most are the ones that don't need to sell at all. How to build for both outcomes — and why they're less in conflict than you think.

Read the essay →
Case Study

The Exit That Almost Didn't

A business worth selling that nearly got retraded in diligence — and the three things that saved it. What exit prep actually means in practice.

Read the case →
View all posts →
Start the Conversation

Is this the right seat
for your business?

Owner-led, . Carrying the financial and strategic side alone. One conversation — no deck, no pressure, no sales process.

Let's Talk Take the Free Assessment →