Paradosi Partners · παράδοση — the act of handing down
We buy founder- and family-held businesses and keep them — the name, the people, the way you do things. We're not private equity. There's no exit clock and no plan to resell.
You'll talk to James — he answers his own phone · (586) 945-3021
Is your business a fit? · honest read · 60 seconds
No contact details asked. Nothing stored.
Who you'd meet
When you call, one of us answers. When we buy, we move in. There is no committee, no fund office, no associate who "handles Michigan."
James Penz & Thu Ra — co-founders
Co-founder · CEO
Grandson of Greek immigrants who built a wholesale food business in Detroit — the name Paradosi (παράδοση, "the act of handing down") comes from that inheritance. James spent a decade at leading global consultancies rebuilding operations for some of the largest manufacturers and insurers in the country, and now puts that toolkit to work for businesses the big firms never visit. He still plays guitar in a Greek band on weekends.
Co-founder · COO
An operator, not a financier. Thu Ra came to America from Burma at seventeen, chasing the American dream — and built it: he helped scale a mid-sized manufacturer from $80 million to $160 million in revenue running the supply chain and the shop floor, then founded and sold two businesses of his own. He and James met working together. He's married to a board-certified neurosurgeon, so the bar for doing things carefully at his house is high.
Two ways in · same handshake
Both doors lead to the same people and the same promise. You don't have to know which one you're walking through before we talk.
Path 01
A full sale, done quietly and honestly. We become the owners and we run the business — personally, not through a rotation of managers. You step back on your own timeline.
Path 02
Not ready to sell — most owners aren't. We work alongside you first: modern systems, operations help, new customers. If handing it over ever makes sense, you'll already know who we are.
One conversation covers both paths. No documents, no commitments.
Our promise to your people
It's rarely the money that keeps owners up at night — research across thousands of exits finds a majority put legacy and their people above price. So we answer that question first.
How a sale with us works
Roughly three to five months from a serious first conversation to close, when financing goes smoothly. Confidentiality is the first mechanic, not a courtesy.
Day 1
Thirty minutes, confidential, no documents. Your timeline, your people, an honest read on whether we're the right successor. If we're not, we say so.
Weeks 1–2
We sign a mutual NDA before you share anything identifying. Then high-level numbers only — enough for us to give you a serious, defensible range.
Weeks 3–6
A letter of intent: price, structure, and what happens to your team, on paper. You keep running the business; nobody inside it knows anything yet.
Months 2–4
The well-worn path — lender underwriting typically runs 60–90 days after the LOI. We work around your schedule, not through your office.
Close
The norm is a same-day announcement at close — from you, with us in the room. Majority of the price in cash at close is the market standard at this size, and it's ours too.
After
We move in and learn the business from your team. You stay involved exactly as long as you want — six weeks or two years. Your call.
A fair comparison
Consolidators pay real money and close reliably — for some owners they're the right answer. The difference is structural, so we'll state it structurally.
A succession buyer (us)
We do — personally, on site.
A typical consolidator
A hired operator executing a fund's plan.
A succession buyer (us)
There is no clock. We buy to hold.
A typical consolidator
Typically 3–7 years, then it's sold again.
A succession buyer (us)
Stays. It's most of what we bought.
A typical consolidator
Often folded into a bigger brand over time.
A succession buyer (us)
Change comes slowly, from inside.
A typical consolidator
Back office centralized, systems standardized on a schedule.
A succession buyer (us)
The owners. Same two people, every time.
A typical consolidator
Deal team first, operating team later — different people.
"Typical consolidator" describes the common private-equity platform model at this size, as documented across industry transaction data — individual firms vary.
After the handshake
Whatever your industry — services, distribution, manufacturing, restoration, or something we haven't met yet — the value chain is the same: win work, do work, get paid. We bring a decade of AI, automation, and operations experience to every link of it.
Growth
We map your market the way a strategy firm would — then wire it up: AI research on every prospect worth calling, target lists your best salesperson would trust, and playbooks for each kind of work you want more of. Growth strategy that turns into Monday-morning activity, not a binder.
Winning the work
AI agents that draft estimates and proposals for your team to approve, chase the follow-ups nobody has time for, and keep every commitment visible. The jobs you lose to “we got back to them too slow” stop leaking.
Operations & supply chain
Scheduling and dispatch that don’t live in one person’s head, job costing you can see weekly instead of at year-end, and supply-chain help — purchasing, inventory, supplier terms — from an operator who has actually run a shop floor.
The back office
Invoicing that goes out on time, collections follow-ups that happen without the awkward call, and one page that shows the whole business — cash, jobs, pipeline — every Friday. The stuff that eats owners’ evenings, automated.
Built to grow your team, never to shrink it. Every tool above exists so your people win more work with less grind — that's the whole point of buying a business we intend to keep.
Founder- and family-held · roughly $2M–$50M revenue · most industries
Owner FAQ
Straight answers you can forward to your CPA, your attorney, or your kids. Market figures come from broker-reported transaction data, not our marketing.
For attorneys, CPAs & brokers
Vetting us for a client? Fair. Criteria, funding clarity, process commitments, and references — including proof of funds under NDA before your client shares anything.
Start a confidential conversation
Thirty minutes with James. No documents, no pressure, no mailing list. Just an honest read on your options — including the ones that aren't us.
Prefer to write first? james@paradosipartners.com