About
Built from the floor up.
Now in the room.
Business Dad Energy was built from operating experience, not a consulting playbook.
Founder + CFO
The second chair.
The owner stays in the first. We sit beside them in the financial and strategic seat, embedded enough to understand the business, senior enough to challenge the decisions.
Make better decisions. Put capital in the right places. Build something worth more.
Why the work matters
Help owners build stronger businesses that can thrive beyond them.
We make the economics visible, bring independent judgment and build systems the team keeps using. These are the commitments behind every engagement.
Tell the truth about the economics
Cash, margins and tradeoffs made visible, even when the answer is uncomfortable.
Respect the owner’s seat
Independent judgment and honest challenge, while the owner leads the business.
Build systems people can use
Reporting, accountable teams and operating rhythms that keep working long after we step back.
The path
Rob Baunoch III, the firm’s founder, is a theatre kid from Wisconsin. He started in media, advertising and production, first as a producer, then on the business side of complex projects for major brands.
That background taught him to think in projects: budget, deadline, team, vendors, scope changes, cash timing and margin. It is still how the firm looks at a business today.
From there his work moved through automotive, technology, manufacturing, fabrication, healthcare, hospitality, real estate, media, production and professional services.
He has held almost every seat below and beside the CFO before sitting in it himself. He understands the numbers because he understands the people, operations and decisions underneath them.
“What is this job actually making?”
Job costing and project economics are one of our strongest lanes, whether the “job” is a physical build, a development, an activation, a product launch, a vehicle, a museum or a production.
In the room when it mattered
Rob has worked on both sides of real transactions, buy-side and sell-side, including acquisitions, integrations, financing, diligence and company sales.
His earlier automotive and technology work included executive support during a $30M raise at a $1.1B+ valuation, plus major operating, brand and launch initiatives.
The lens
Rob is neurodivergent. For him that shows up as pattern recognition, creative problem-solving and a bias toward systems built for actual humans. That lens runs through how the firm works.
And yes, the “Dad” is real.