PresumeNothing Referral One-Pager

For Lenders & Advisors · Quick Reference

10 Signs a Company Needs Interim Leadership

Forward this to a borrower or client. It is the pattern lenders, restructuring attorneys, CPAs, and PE operating partners see before a covenant test, not after, and what to do about it.

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How many of these do you see?

Cash01–03

  1. A covenant breach, or a request for a covenant waiver
  2. A 13-week cash forecast nobody around the table actually trusts
  3. Payables stretching further every month, with no plan to unwind it

Leadership04–06

  1. CEO or CFO departure, or an extended absence at the top
  2. A founder who cannot step back, even as the business outgrows one decision-maker
  3. One person holds knowledge nobody wrote down: vendor terms, the lender relationship, how the books actually work

Operations07–10

  1. Gross margin eroding for two quarters running, with no clear explanation
  2. Loss of an anchor customer, or a concentration risk no one will name
  3. Reporting deadlines to the board or the lender start slipping
  4. The lender is the one raising the idea of a CRO, before management has

When to refer

If you see any of these in a borrower or client, introduce us now, not after the next covenant test.

  • Cash reserves are under 60 days of operating expenses
  • Revenue has declined two or more consecutive quarters
  • Key employees or managers have left in the past six months
  • Leadership cannot agree on what the problem actually is
  • A covenant has been breached or is close to it

First 30 days

  1. Builds a 13-week cash forecast that management and the lender can both rely on.
  2. Meets every function head and customer-facing lead to find where the real risk sits, not where the org chart says it sits.
  3. Stabilizes reporting to the board, lender, or investors so trust starts rebuilding immediately.

How a referral starts

  1. We respond to a referral within one business day.
  2. A first call does not require a proposal or a signed agreement.
  3. Most engagements are scoped and ready to begin within two weeks of that first conversation.
  4. Fixed-fee or hourly, whichever fits the situation.

You stay informed

We agree upfront on your role and how involved you want to be.

A reporting cadence that matches the situation: weekly during a crisis, less often once the business is stable.

Client confidentiality is maintained. You receive what the client has agreed we will share.

Who steps in

Senior former CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, and general counsels, working as interim leaders to run the business until it is stable. Companies from roughly $2M to $150M in revenue, across the US and internationally. We prepared and ran the sale of a Houston-area company at a 10x revenue multiple.