Our Advice
“Keep your business as long as possible.”
This isn’t the advice you expect to get from investors.
But your company is special. You’ve spent years or even decades building it. You should own it for as long as that’s right for you, your family, and your future.
When the day comes that you want a partner, we’re here to help. Whether that’s to transition ownership, accelerate growth, or gain an experienced team beside you, Kanbrick is ready when you are.
The Owners We Partner With
For owners who want more than capital.
The financial outcome matters. But for owners who have spent years building a business, choosing a partner is also about what happens next: to the company, the people, the culture, and the legacy.
The owners we understand best want to:
Build what’s next
You see real opportunity ahead and want a partner who shares your ambition for the business: investing in growth, strengthening the team, and creating new opportunities for your people.
Protect what matters
You feel a responsibility to the people, the culture, and the reputation that made the business successful. You want a steward who respects that foundation while helping the company keep getting better.
Craft a win-win-win partnership
A win for you and your family upfront. A business and a team set up for success. And if we do our jobs well, a win together as long-term owners.
The Businesses We Partner With
Exceptional companies built to endure.
We begin with the owner, not an industry checklist. From there, we look for businesses with a few important qualities:
An enduring company with a track record of growth and profitability
More than $5 million in annual earnings
A strong culture and meaningful opportunities for continued growth
Owners seeking a long-term alternative to traditional private equity
We most often make majority investments, but we have the flexibility to tailor each investment around the goals of the owner, the stakeholders, and the business.
Considering your options?
Our owner’s guide shares our approach to thinking about what is next.
How We’re Different
Kanbrick vs. Traditional Private Equity
Kanbrick
Long-term owners
We think in decades, not quarters. No clock.
Operator-led
Experienced business builders, embedded support
A partnership model
Flexibility to build around your unique goals.
Focused on every partnership
One to three partnerships per year
Traditional Private Equity
Short investment horizons
Built to exit in 3 to 7 years
Financial engineering first
Borrow more, cut costs, sell again
Governance from a distance
Board seats, not time in the business
One of many
Attention spread across many investments
We invest in a small number of companies each year, so our entire team can commit deeply to every partnership.
Our Process
Our approach works on your timeline
01
Get to know each other.
Start out with a confidential conversation about your business, your goals, and what matters most to you and your family.
02
Design the partnership together.
Before signing a letter of intent, we align on everything that’s important to you: goals, ownership, roles, valuation, and the future of the business.
03
Close when you’re ready.
Once aligned, we manage the remaining work with transparency. From alignment to closing typically takes 60–90 days, on your timeline.
04
Build together
Closing is the beginning of the partnership, not the end.
Owners always ask us: “What changes in year one?” The answer is: not as much as you’d think.
What stays the same is the name, the people, and the culture.
But all of that is supported by access to dedicated Kanbrick team members, experienced board members and operating advisors, and a community of CEOs and executives who understand the challenges of building a great company.
Our Approach in Action
Helping JM Test build its next chapter and continue its legacy.
JM Test Systems was founded in 1982 by Ed Morrison.
After growing it from a two-person lab into one of the region’s largest calibration-services companies, the Morrison family wanted a partner who could help pursue new growth and support the family’s goals, without walking away from what they’d built.
We aligned around a shared vision: build a significantly larger business while preserving JM Test’s reputation for exceptional service and its employee-centered culture.
Together, we’ve invested in people, strategic planning, technology, and expansion, with a long-term view of what the business can become.
Kanbrick was the clear choice given their long-term perspective, experience building businesses, and focus on partnering with family businesses. We’re looking forward to accelerating growth while honoring our father’s legacy.
SCOTT MORRISON (ED’S SON)
Owner and Retired CEO, JM Test Systems
Partner with Us
Building a great business takes years. Choosing a partner happens once.
If you are considering what comes next, we would welcome a quick, confidential conversation about your business, your goals, and whether Kanbrick could be the right partner.