Services

Everything between the deal and the commitment.

Five practice areas that can stand alone as scoped projects or compound into a full capital operation. Every engagement starts with the question that matters: what is standing between you and the capital you should be raising?

Start here

The Ballast Check

A fixed-fee diagnostic of your capital operation, read the way an allocator will read it. Your underwriting, offering materials, and investor systems are reviewed from the LP’s side of the table, so you see exactly where the raise is leaking and what to fix first, before committing to anything bigger.

From $4,500 · About two weeks

What we review

  • Underwriting. Formula integrity, buried hardcodes, and whether your returns survive the first round of LP questions.
  • Consistency. Whether your model, deck, and investment overview tell the same story with the same numbers.
  • Diligence readiness. The questions a family office or RIA will ask first, and which ones your materials can’t answer yet.
  • Investor experience. Data room, onboarding, subscription flow, and reporting plan.

What you get

  • A scored findings memo across all four areas
  • A diligence question list, marked answered, weak, or missing
  • A build list sequenced into three stages: before you send anything, before first close, and after
  • A 60-minute working session to walk through it together

01

Capital Strategy & Positioning

The decisions that come before the raise: what vehicle to offer, to whom, on what economics, and how to tell that story so the right investors recognize themselves in it.

  • Vehicle & offering strategy
  • Offering economics & structure
  • Investor targeting & prioritization
  • Structuring recommendation memos
  • Positioning & narrative

02

Underwriting & Model Builds

Institutional-grade financial models built or rebuilt from the ground up, so your numbers answer questions before investors ask them.

  • Pro forma model builds
  • JV & waterfall structures
  • Sensitivity & scenario analysis
  • Return analysis & benchmarking
  • Underwriting summaries & IC materials

03

Investment Materials

The documents that carry your credibility into rooms you are not in: decks, overviews, and diligence materials written in the language allocators expect.

  • Fund & deal pitch decks
  • Investment overviews
  • DDQs & data room preparation
  • Investor reporting templates
  • Q&A preparation

04

Investor Relations Infrastructure

The systems layer: CRM, workflows, reporting cadence, and data structure designed once, owned clearly, and built to scale with your investor base.

  • Investor CRM design & implementation
  • Onboarding & subscription workflows
  • Reporting standards & cadence
  • Portal & investor tech selection
  • Fund admin coordination

05

Flagship retainer

Fractional Investor Relations

A director-level IR function embedded in your firm on a monthly retainer. Your investors get institutional service; you get your weekends back. This is where most Ballast engagements ultimately land.

  • Ongoing investor communication and reporting
  • Capital raise support across active offerings
  • Inquiry handling, onboarding, and escalation resolution
  • Executive-level counsel on capital decisions
  • Quarterly review of what the data says about your raise

What happens next

From first call to a running capital machine.

No long proposals before you know whether this is worth doing. Each step earns the next one.

  1. 01

    Intro Call

    30 minutes. Where your capital process stands and what is actually in the way.

    No cost

  2. 02

    Ballast Check

    The fixed-fee diagnostic: findings memo, prioritized build list, working session.

    About two weeks

  3. 03

    Scoped Proposal

    Deliverables, timeline, and fee in writing. Nothing starts before you sign it.

    Within a week

  4. 04

    The Build

    The work itself, with review checkpoints so nothing lands as a surprise.

    Per scope

  5. 05

    Run It

    Retainer support, or a documented handoff so your team runs it without me.

    Ongoing or closed

How engagements work

Three ways to work together.

Scoped Project

A defined deliverable on a defined timeline: a model build, an investment overview, a CRM implementation. Fixed scope, fixed fee.

Typically 2–6 weeks

Advisory Retainer

Standing access to capital markets judgment: strategy sessions, material reviews, and counsel as decisions come up. A partner on call, not on payroll.

Monthly

Fractional Embedded

Ballast operates as your IR function: in your inbox, on your investor calls, accountable for outcomes. The full infrastructure, run for you.

Monthly · Two seats open next quarter

Engagements are scoped and priced per mandate after an intro call.

Not sure which shape fits? That's what the first call is for.