The hardest moment for a mid-market CEO isn't when the business is failing. It's when the business has succeeded — and the model that got you here starts showing its limits. Stratwell CEO highlights five forces that are converging and the best way to develop your growth strategy.

Most Private Companies Aren't Ready for the Capital Event They're About to Have I talk to a lot of mid-market CEOs who are planning their next move — an acquisition, a growth capital raise, a debt facility to fund expansion. The ambition is there. The readiness usually isn't. Capstone's 2025 survey found 57.4% of mid-market owners completed at least one capital markets transaction in the past year — up 13.3%. JPMorgan reports 39% of mid-market leaders are pursuing M&A as a 20

AI Won't Save Your Growth Strategy. But It Might Accelerate the Wrong One. If you're a mid-market CEO, you're hearing about AI from every direction. Your vendors are pitching it. Your competitors are announcing it. Your board is asking about it. And the data says you're listening — 53% of mid-market companies plan near-term AI investments, up sharply from mid-year. That's a lot of money moving fast. The question is whether it's moving toward something. The 60% problem with AI

Second curve strategy isn't about finding the next breakthrough technology. It's about structuring the transition to generate revenue — not just potential. We analyzed SEC filings, annual reports, and earnings calls across four public AEC companies — WSP, NV5, Jacobs, and Fluor — to trace exactly when each firm pivoted, why, and what the financials showed afterward.

Most lower mid-market companies don't have governance structures equipped to engage with the level of complexity....At Stratwell, we believe the mid-market governance gap is one of the most underaddressed risks in this segment. Not because these companies need Fortune 500 structures — but because enterprise-altering decisions deserve independent perspective and structured accountability.

Tariffs Aren't a Supply Chain Problem. They're a Strategy Problem. Here's what I hear most often from mid-market CEOs about tariffs: We're renegotiating contracts. We're diversifying suppliers. We're cutting overhead. Those are rational moves. They're also entirely defensive. And that's what concerns me. Capstone's 2025 survey shows 86% of mid-market CEOs are concerned about tariff impacts. Nearly 40% have cut expenses. About a third have reconfigured supply chains. When ever

Recurring, contractually-committed revenue is worth materially more than project-by-project work. Yet AEC firms struggle to shift their revenue models. Here are five revenue model transitions — and the financial case for making them — for mid-market AEC firm leaders.

55% of Mid-Market CEOs Are Planning for Growth. Most Will Get It Wrong. Every CEO I'm talking to right now wants to grow. After three years of playing defense — managing through inflation, rate hikes, and supply chain chaos — the instinct to go on offense is strong. And I get it. Capstone Partners' 2025 survey confirms it: 55.9% of mid-market business owners plan to execute growth strategies over the next 12 months. That's the good news. Here's what gives me pause. Look at ho

Why talent constraints and technology pressure are the same problem — and how AEC CEOs can stop solving them separately. Stratwell Partners recommends viewing Talent and Technology together as capacity-building levers for growth.

In a consolidating AEC market, the capital decision founders make — and when you make it — determines outcomes for more than your balance sheet. Here's the data on employee & client impact worth knowing before a banker calls.

The founder succession crisis is the most predictable — and most ignored — threat in the AEC industry. Here's what the data says, and what the best firms are doing about it. STRATWELL takes a deep dive into the situation and presents advice to CEOs, boards and key leadership on how to navigate change this unique leadership change.

Most CEOs spend 80% of time on low-priority tasks. Learn why working ON your business—not just IN it—is critical for growth and how to make the shift.

Discover the warning signs that your business model is maturing and learn why this strategic inflection point is an opportunity, not a crisis. Based on Charles Handy's Second Curve theory.

CEOs: Is your marketing budget positioned for AI search? With 70% of B2B queries showing AI Overviews, brand authority is no longer optional. AI search is reshaping discovery. Learn why you must shift marketing budgets toward brand authority building to maintain visibility in a race to be the industry's top dog.

Strategic planning, growth forecasting, and vision statements all have value, but none of them are strategy.

When you don’t know something, you call a friend. At work that’s what advisory boards are for.

Shantini Munthree, CEO of Stratwell Partners shares why the company is restaging after years of success as Brandkind Consulting.

Explore brand ideas for creative in-store experiences from the UK and US to revitalize retail and attract shoppers back to physical stores.

BRANDKIND releases its 2024 At Home Trends Report that highlights three trends to help consumer product goods and home solutions brands.

Reasons to hire a professional strategy firm instead of trying to do it yourself.