Growth Outpaces Capability.
The Next Layer Closes the Gap.
The Next Layer™ helps founders build the operating capability needed for the next stage of growth.
I help founders and boards move from "we're growing" to "we're ready." That means getting clear on where the strain actually is, building the structure to hold what's next, and putting the systems in place to scale without losing what made you great. This is the work I love most.
8+
Years of CEO experience
25+
Years as CEO
$25M to $3B
in Revenue Led
$25M to $3B
in Revenue
Retail, F&B, Hospitality, Sports
Retail, F&B, Hospitality
3X Valuation
in 24 Months
What it Means
Growth doesn't fail for lack of opportunity. It fails when a founder's decisions, a board's oversight, and the company's operations still fit the business that used to exist, not the one it's becoming. That gap is easiest to see in hindsight, once it's already expensive to fix. The Next Layer™ Method surfaces it earlier, while there's still time to act, giving founders, boards, and investors a shared, honest read on where the business stands, and a clear path to close the distance.
Our Point Of View
Opportunity is rarely the constraint. Organizational capability is. That's the gap Krislock & Co exists to close, a point of view sophisticated founders, boards, and PE investors recognize immediately, because they've lived on the wrong side of it.
Where The Gap Actually Lives
Every business I work with is strong in some ways and stretched thin in others, that's not a flaw, it's just where growth has outpaced the internal work. In my experience, the gap almost always shows up in one of four places.
Is the Organization Ready?
Whether the structure, systems, and people underneath the business can actually support what's coming next, not just today's volume, but the next stage of growth.
Have You Evolved With the Business?
Whether you've grown from founder into the CEO of something bigger than you built alone, with the delegation, structure, and distance that requires.
Is the Business Behind the Business as Strong as the Brand?
Whether the systems, the people, and the reporting underneath the business hold up as well as what customers and investors see on the surface.
Is the Business Creating Real Value — Or Just Activity?
Whether the day-to-day work is actually building toward growth, valuation, or exit, or just keeping things moving.
Does this sound familiar?
You're still the one who really understands the P&L, and every big decision still runs through you because nobody else has full visibility into it. That's not a business yet...that's a really demanding job with your name on it
Your org chart looks fine on paper, but half the accountability still lives in your head, and you're the answer to questions that should have an owner by now. You know it, and you're tired of being the bottleneck for a company you built to grow past you.
You can feel a bigger conversation coming, a PE partner, a transaction, a real growth push, and some part of you knows the business isn't ready for that kind of scrutiny yet. The thought of someone actually opening the hood keeps you up more than you'd admit out loud.
Who I Work With
I work with founders, CEOs, and board chairs of founder-led businesses between $75M and $300M in revenue, usually in retail, food & beverage, hospitality, or another consumer-facing space, whose companies have outgrown the way they're being run. Maybe there's a PE conversation or a transaction 12–24 months out, maybe there isn't yet, but either way the gaps are showing in P&L ownership, management infrastructure, and the kind of strategy you could hand to a board or a buyer with confidence.
I'm not the right fit for an early-stage company that's still finding product-market fit, or for a founder who wants someone to just run things day-to-day indefinitely. I'm also not here to take the company over or put my name on the door. I'm here to build what's missing, hand it back stronger, and let you lead it into what's next.
The Next Layer™ Method
Step 1 — See Clearly:
Look Under the Hood
I spend the first stretch of the engagement getting a real, unfiltered view of how the business actually runs: the P&L, the org, the decisions that only exist in your head. You get a clear, honest picture of exactly where the gaps are, without the sugarcoating.
Step 2 — Build intentionally:
Build the Infrastructure
Together we put the operating discipline in place: real P&L ownership, an org structure that matches the strategy, and a plan that ties it all together. You get the management infrastructure a growing company actually needs, built specifically around yours.
Step 3 — Scale Confidently:
Lead It Into Motion
I stay hands-on to help the team run the new structure and build the muscle to keep it going without me. You get a business that's operating on its own strength, and the confidence that it'll hold up under real scrutiny.
The Next Layer
I call it The Next Layer™, because that's exactly what it is — the operating structure that needs to exist underneath a founder before growth, a board, or a buyer starts asking questions the business can't yet answer. I believe founder-led businesses need someone who's built this before, and can build it again quickly, without the cost or the permanence of a full-time executive hire. That's the gap I sit in: enough operating experience across corporate and startup environments to know what a company needs before it becomes the thing holding it back, and enough respect for what you've built to build it with you, not around you.
My approach comes from 25+ years doing this work inside real P&Ls, from $25M to $3B in revenue, across retail, food & beverage, hospitality, and other consumer-facing businesses. I've walked into companies with nothing in place and turned them into businesses that could deliver real results within a year. That's not a framework I'm selling you, it's a track record you can check.
Testimonials
The Infrastructure Won't Build Itself. You Don't Have to Build It Alone
You didn't get this far by waiting for the perfect moment, and you don't need to wait for one now either. A 30-minute conversation is enough to know if this is the right next step for your business.