For investors, boards & founders

Operators who have built, scaled, and exited. Now for the company you’re building.

Not consultants. Operators inside your business, fractional to fully embedded.

8 exits
~$1B largest
40+ years operating
What we do

We build the growth engine. Then we make it investable.

We built something real, and growth flattened.
Growth has plateaued
+

CAC climbs, channels stall, nobody can name what moved. We rebuild the demand engine and the economics under it.

We need to raise, and we are not ready.
Raising in the next 12 months
+

Credible tech, thin governance, metrics that won’t survive diligence. We make the company investable before you raise.

Everything still runs through the founder.
Founder is the bottleneck
+

Revenue runs on one calendar. We install the team and cadence that make growth repeatable.

We have the clinical proof and no commercial engine.
Healthcare, pre-commercial
+

Strong evidence, slow adoption. We fit the product to the buyer’s workflow and build the motion that sells it.

We’ll tell you what we’d do before anyone signs anything.
Start that conversation →

Partners

Capital and governance. Growth and AI.

Thomas E. Gardner
Founder & LLC Manager

Thomas E. “Tom” Gardner

CapitalBoardsHealthcare

Chairman, CEO, and investor behind category-defining healthcare companies, from founding through IPO and a ~$1B acquisition.

Selected outcomes+
  • Access HealthCEO · acquired for ~$1B
  • DatamonitorCEO · London Stock Exchange IPO
  • MMIT, IntegriChainFounding chairman
  • OmezaFounder, former CEO
Bryan Gardner
Partner · Growth, Marketing & AI

Bryan Gardner

Customer acquisitionEcommerceApplied AI

Two decades of customer acquisition, ecommerce, and applied AI. Three companies founded, two exits.

Selected outcomes+
  • LimeSpotUnder $200K to $5M+ revenue · operating partner
  • Waiākea$30K/month to $51M/year · advisor & shareholder
  • RMUUnder $1M to $30M+/year · operating partner, 10+ years
  • Crown & FlintFounder/CEO · eight figures in three years · acquired 2019
  • WeeSchoolFounding investor & operating partner · exit to Teaching Strategies
  • MatterlabEnrollment marketing · cost per lead cut >70%
Capabilities

Four disciplines. One operating standard.

01

Capital & Finance

Investable first. Then raise against the milestones that move enterprise value.

+
Capital ReadinessMetrics, model, governance, and narrative that survive diligencePartnership-led
Capital FormationRaise structure, investor targeting, board and investor communicationsBob Enck
02

Growth & Commercial

The demand engine, the narrative, and the sales motion that carries them.

+
GrowthCustomer acquisition, conversion, lifecycle, ecommerceBryan Gardner
CommunicationsStrategic narrative and market leadershipPartnership-led
Medical SalesContract sales to clinicians managing chronic diseaseValerie Pesson
03

Leadership & Scale

Growth that is repeatable and founder-independent.

+
LeadershipExecutive development, talent assessment, org effectivenessRob Toomey
ScaleupTeam, process, and systems for scaleTom & Bryan Gardner
04

Technology & Evidence

Data into decisions. Decisions into systems that perform at scale.

+
TechnologyFractional CTO, agentic AI, applied data systemsBryan Gardner
Data ScienceAdvanced analytics and real-world evidenceZweli Tunyiswa
The Companies

Where we operate, and what moved.

Current engagements, equity positions, past operating work.

↗AI ecommerce

AI ecommerce optimization for DTC and retail. Operating partner since sub-$200K revenue — now past $5M.

↗Premium CPG

Sustainability-led premium water. Online revenue from $30K/month to $50M+/year.

↗Outdoor · vertically integrated

Designs and makes its own skis, bikes, and gear — DTC, wholesale, its own shops and taverns. Under $1M to $30M+ across the US, Canada, and beyond.

↗Activewear DTC + retail

Versatile activewear — two retail stores and a growing Shopify DTC.

↗Indoor golf · fundraising & growth

Trackman-powered indoor golf — play, practice, and events. Active advisor on fundraising and growth.

↗Team training · fundraising & growth

Personality-type tools and training for how teams lead, coach, and collaborate. Active advisor on fundraising and growth.

↗Consumer app

Turns a family’s camera roll into printed photo books in minutes. Advised on growth.

↗Education marketing

Enrollment marketing for education. Cost per lead and per enrollment cut 70%+.

↗Senior living

Brain–body engagement for the hardest-to-reach residents across senior living.

↗Dental compliance

The compliance operating system for dental organizations.

↗Clinical intelligence

Operating infrastructure for accountable specialty care — starting in $20B+ wound care.

↗Smart footwear

The intelligence layer inside footwear — performance, injury reduction, safety.

↗Consumer brand · founded & exited

Founded and run by Bryan — in-house design, overseas manufacturing, 20+ countries. Eight figures in three years. Profitable, debt-free, exited 2019.

Early-learning edtech · through exit

Early-learning platform from the creators of Baby Einstein. Founding investor and operating partner through exit — built the funnel, trained the first five hires. Acquired by Teaching Strategies (KKR-backed).

Venture studio · early stage

Capital and operators in the same deal. For earlier-stage companies that want funding plus a bespoke accelerator-style partnership, with us inside the company from first growth through the raise. $20M initial fund.

Acquirers and public markets in our track record
McKessonLondon Stock ExchangeAccel-KKR Teaching StrategiesSmiths AerospaceABB

Have a company in mind? Talk to a partner →

Point of View

We’ve both sat in the chair — payroll real, board waiting. That’s the only reason to hire us.

01

In it for the long haul

Through the roadmap’s milestones, not just the quarter that hurts.

02

In the weeds, by choice

Overhaul or back on plan: inside the business, alongside your team.

03

Your team, stronger

Consultants can read as a vote of no confidence. We build up the people already there.

04

Finance the inflection points

Raise against milestones that move enterprise value, not runway.

Track Record

Eight exits.

All eight+
Access Health~$1B · McKesson
Tom · CEO
DatamonitorLSE IPO · acquired for $993M
Tom · CEO
MMIT$1.6B merger with Evaluate
Tom · Founding Chairman
IntegriChainAcquired by Accel-KKR
Tom · Founding Chairman
Base10 SystemsAcquired by Smiths Aerospace & ABB
Tom · CEO
Crown & Flint ↗Eight figures in three years · acquired 2019
Bryan · Founder & CEO
WeeSchoolExit to Teaching Strategies (KKR-backed)
Bryan · Founding Investor & Operating Partner
Fly Pedals ↗Patented · Kickstarted in 2 days · acquired 2018
Bryan · Founder & Inventor
How we engage:
1 Diagnose the constraint.
2 Frame the options and economics.
3 Build alongside your team.
4 Advance with capital, customers, and partners.
Start a Conversation

Consequential decisions deserve senior attention.

Tell us the constraint. One of us will reply.

Tom Gardner

Healthcare, capital, and board matters

tom.gardner@gardneradvisory.com
Sarasota, Florida

Bryan Gardner

Growth, marketing, and AI matters

bryan@gardneradvisory.com
Golden, Colorado

Serving clients nationally. Your information is never shared.