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Consulting Uncensored
The good, the bad and the ugly of the world of consulting.
Consulting Uncensored is where we have straight talk on key topics impacting the consulting industry. Hosted by industry veteran Neal McNamara, who is never short on unfiltered opinions on most things but in particular matters of strategy, leadership, talent and culture.
With decades of experience building and leading high-performing consulting teams, Neal sits down with other industry participants, investors, executives and consumers of consulting services to talk openly about realities of the industry - especially realities that many don't openly discuss or analyze.
Whether you’re a veteran in the industry, early in your career or someone considering a career in consulting, Consulting Uncensored offers an unfiltered look at the industry, what it takes to succeed and ways to grow and build great practices and/or businesses with some fun and entertaining dialogue along the way.
No consulting speak. Real talk. No filters.
Consulting Uncensored
The Buy-and-Build Playbook: How StoicLane Is Rolling Up Professional Services and Keeping It Forever
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Most investors are laser-focused on the exit. StoicLane Co-founder and President Matt Foran is playing a completely different game: acquiring fragmented, founder-led businesses in finance, insurance, and real estate, and turning them into best-in-class organizations they intend to own indefinitely.
In this episode, Neal sits down with Matt to explain the philosophy behind StoicLane's permanent capital model, from $300M+ deployed across 87 acquisitions to their accounting firm roll-up, Archer Lewis, and an AI strategy built on 100% leadership adoption.
Listen in as Matt shares what it really takes to build a professional services portfolio, why they scrapped their sales team, and how they move leaders across platforms in ways most PE firms would never consider.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why StoicLane chose buy-and-build and what their tech background made possible.
- What separates a permanent capital vehicle from a traditional PE fund.
- How StoicLane built 87 acquisitions across 5 platforms targeting $550M in revenue.
- Why Archer Lewis disbanded its sales team and what that reveals about demand.
- How AI is augmenting professional services teams.
- Why industry experience isn't always the prerequisite for leading a portfolio company.
- Why the seller-doer "unicorn" is the hardest hire in professional services.
Ideas Worth Sharing:
- "We should go out and simply get the client base, and then apply our technological skills in a way that optimizes these organizations." - Matt Foran
- “Ultimately, our responsibility is to operate these in a way in which we would own them forever.” - Matt Foran
- "In other areas of the world where there are these statements of AI creating significant disruption, significant concern, we're excited about it." - Matt Foran
Resources:
- Matt Foran: Website | LinkedIn
- Archer Lewis
- Neal McNamara: Website | LinkedIn
- Email: nmcnamara@virtaspartners.com
Connect with Neal:
If you lead a consulting, finance, or professional services team and want to stay close to how investors and private equity are really thinking about growth and value creation, connect with Neal on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going and share your perspective.
To learn more about how Virtas Partners helps clients navigate major financial transitions from acquisitions and carve‑outs to IPOs, restructurings, and other complex changes, visit the Virtas Partners website.