Hire the Best Due Diligence Specialists
in the United States

I help clients investigate people and companies, verify records and online footprints, and resolve online reputation issues. INVESTIGATIONS & DUE DILIGENCE • Background research on individuals and companies • Identity, employment, credential and contact verification • Court, corporate, public record and open source research • Locating people and difficult to find information • Source verification, timeline analysis and evidence organization • Research support for legal, business and sensitive personal matters ONLINE REPUTATION & DIGITAL FOOTPRINT • Online presence, reputation and privacy audits • Identification of harmful, outdated, duplicate or unauthorized content • Legacy account recovery, profile cleanup and account closure • Publisher, platform and website owner research and outreach • Assessment of realistic removal, correction and deindexing options • Privacy and data broker cleanup, remediation planning and monitoring My work is discreet, thorough and clearly documented. I give clients an honest assessment of what is realistic, explain the available options and provide regular updates.

Compliance Professional in Securities industry. I can supervise all facets of a B/D or RIA. I was a Compliance Specialist with FINRA (18 years) and a CCO for a BD/RIA (6 years), managing all compliance tasks. I am deeply familiar with the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. I have experience supervising RR's and all types trading including Equities, Fixed Income, Options, Structured Products, Private Placements, Municipal Securities, etc. In addition to auditing firm's supervisory controls I have developed numerous written procedures, and can supervise the due diligence process for Reg D/A/A+/CF offerings. I have had several CMAs approved by FINRA and I am very competent conducting branch inspections, trade reviews and developing training. I can help with AML testing and the financial report preparation.

I love entrepreneurs and working in entrepreneurial environments. I've written over 50 business plans, created pitch decks and developed financial models for ventures across multiple industries which have helped raise over $100 million in funding. Through this experience, I have gained a strong understanding of what investors look for when making a decision and the types of questions that must be addressed in order to secure funding. My experience is not limited to consulting. I've helped start 14 companies, one of which was a finalist in the TechCrunch disrupt competition, four have exited. I hold an MBA in finance from Thunderbird School of Global Management -- ranked #1 in the world for Global Business. And I have used my experience to help others as a Professor of Entrepreneurship to Master's-degree candidates. I also volunteer my time as a mentor to startup entrepreneurs at two accelerator programs. I have been a published author since 2001. This includes having collaborated on three books on entrepreneurship, one of which sells over 1 million copies and another that President Bill Clinton wrote the forward to. I enjoy working for clients that want to have a major impact on the world. ABOUT MY WORK My work has been profiled in The Washington Post and Investor's Business Daily. Additionally, my client work has been the subject of an episode on The Simpson's and featured in a song by a Platinum-award winning country music artist. Clients that I have advised include the following industries: Alcohol, Cannabis, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Retail, AR/VR, mobile, gaming, construction, agriculture, social networking, data security, consumer food products, entertainment and enterprise resource planning.

I am a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA®) and private-company valuation specialist. My work is built around the purpose of the assignment—tax, litigation, partner disputes, acquisitions, retirement plans, financial reporting, strategic planning, or another defined need. I help business owners, attorneys, CPAs, investors, buyers, and lenders answer a deceptively difficult question: What is this business actually worth—and can the conclusion be defended? Over the past 15+ years, I have analyzed thousands of privately held small and midsize businesses, including complex assignments requiring judgment, financial normalization, and reconciliation of multiple valuation approaches. My principal focus is CERTIFIED BUSINESS VALUATION I am a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA®) through NACVA, Business Certified Appraiser (BCA®), and Certified Machinery & Equipment Appraiser (CMEA®), with an M.S. in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. in Finance from George Washington University. There is no one-size-fits-all valuation report. Scope depends on the purpose, standard of value, valuation date, ownership interest, evidence, and intended user. The deliverable may be a valuation memo, calculation, or full narrative report. I prepare valuations for: 🤝 Partner Buyouts & Shareholder Disputes — buyouts, minority interests, buy-sell agreements, and disputed ownership interests. 🧾 Estate, Gift & Tax Valuation — estate tax, gift tax, IRS Fair Market Value (FMV), Revenue Ruling 59-60, ownership transfers, and tax-reporting valuations. 🏛️ ROBS, 401(k) & Retirement-Plan Valuation — ROBS employer stock, annual/termination valuations, distributions, and self-directed IRA interests. 👥 ESOP & Employee Ownership Valuation — employer-stock and employee-ownership valuation. ⚖️ Litigation & Economic Damages — litigation business valuation, lost profits, economic damages, business divorce, and personal vs. enterprise goodwill. 🏦 Acquisition, SBA & Exit Valuation — acquisition valuation, SBA 7(a), succession planning, exit planning, and transaction support. 🚀 Startup, IRC 409A & Intangible Asset Valuation — startup/pre-revenue valuation, IRC 409A, intellectual property, goodwill, and promissory notes. 📊 Financial Reporting Valuation — ASC 805 purchase price allocation, ASC 820 fair value, ASC 350 goodwill impairment, and ASC 718 stock-compensation valuation. 🚚 Machinery & Equipment Valuation — desktop appraisal of machinery, vehicles, and equipment. COMPLEX VALUATION ASSIGNMENTS I specialize in assignments requiring judgment, reconstruction, and multiple layers of analysis: 📉 Inconsistent, Declining, or Limited Profitability 🧮 Complex EBITDA, SDE & Owner-Compensation Normalization 📊 Minority & Noncontrolling Interests | DLOC & DLOM 👤 Personal vs. Enterprise Goodwill & Key-Person Risk 🔗 Related-Party Transactions & Multi-Entity Structures ⚠️ Distressed Businesses or Unusual Debt & Capital Structures 🏭 Machinery, Equipment, IP & Other Intangible Assets ⚖️ Tax & Litigation Valuations with Complex or Unclear Financials A valuation should not be a spreadsheet that produces a number. It should explain the economics, assumptions, valuation approaches, and why the conclusion is reasonable. For disputed or high-scrutiny assignments, I clearly document the evidence, adjustments, and reasoning so sophisticated readers can follow the analysis. WHAT AN UPWORK CLIENT SAID “He understands business valuation forwards and backwards…” — IRS-Compliant Business Valuation Client REAL-WORLD TRANSACTION EXPERIENCE My perspective is not purely academic. I have personally invested in, operated, acquired, and sold private businesses—and I have made and lost money doing it. That experience changed how I evaluate sustainable earnings, add-backs, working capital, capital expenditures, concentration risk, debt service, and valuation assumptions. QUALITY OF EARNINGS & M&A DUE DILIGENCE Valuation is my primary focus, but I also assist buyers and investors with: 🧮 Quality of Earnings — reconstruct sustainable EBITDA/SDE and evaluate seller adjustments. 💵 Proof of Cash — compare reported revenue with deposits and cash activity. 🔄 Working Capital — estimate normalized operating working capital and a defensible working-capital peg. 🏦 SBA & Acquisition Analysis — evaluate debt-service coverage, financing structure, seller notes, equity requirements, and acquisition risk. FIXED-FEE VALUATION ENGAGEMENTS Most valuation reports are quoted on a fixed-fee basis. After a brief scope review, I provide a defined scope, professional fee, and delivery timeline before work begins. If you need a valuation for a specific purpose—even if it is not listed above—send me the assignment, intended use, and deadline. I can recommend the appropriate valuation scope and report type.