Your Unfair Advantage — Hiding in Plain Sight
You have something most RIA rollup players don't: a fully built, institutionally-branded diagnostic system — ValuCompass™, the Income Architecture Audit™, the Freedom Index™, the Tax Drag Ratio™, Capital Velocity Score™. Six proprietary indexes, a polished sample diagnostic report, a client portal, intake flows, and explainer videos — all live at lincolnparkprivatewealth.com.
That's not a brochure. That's a software-like SaaS moat in a world where your competitors have a PDF deck and a Calendly link. Most RIAs spend $500K+ and 3 years trying to build what you've already built. This needs to be valued and leveraged, not buried.
GPT told you to build an AUM platform. You already have one. The question now is: how do you fill it with assets?
Stop / Start / Watch / Keep
Stop Immediately
- Direct involvement in any real estate development or operator-dependent deal
- Any revenue that can't be explained in one sentence to a compliance officer
- Being the sole deliverer of everything — you can't scale what only you can do
- Adding complexity that won't survive due diligence
Start Now
- Registering as an RIA or formalizing the investment advisory structure under a BD/RIA framework
- Documenting AUM under management — even if it's seed AUM, get it on paper
- Building an advisor acquisition pipeline (55–72 year old solo RIAs)
- Treating every tax plan close as an AUM conversation starting on Day 1
- Using Carey as your WAN relationship engine — free up Dana's time for highest-leverage activity
Watch Carefully
- The Lincoln Park brand vs. Cornell Capital Holdings — two brands creates confusion at due diligence. One of them needs to become the operating entity; the other becomes a product/program name.
- Don't let the tax plan revenue become the story — it should feed AUM, not replace it
- Carey's WAN commissions — at scale they're significant; make sure the structure is clean for a rollup
Keep & Double Down
- The diagnostic system — ValuCompass, IAA, the 6 indexes. This is your product moat.
- The Family CFO brand and positioning — it's differentiated and resonates with UHNW clients
- Ryan for investment strategy — he's the AUM credibility layer
- The Hormozi-style prescriptive sales model — it works and it's trainable
- Lincoln Park website infrastructure — it's already institutional-grade
The Thing Nobody Is Saying Clearly
You are trying to build a business that looks like an RIA to a buyer in 3–5 years. That means recurring AUM-based revenue has to be the numerically dominant revenue line by Year 3, even if planning fees are higher margin today. A rollup buyer applies a 12× multiple to recurring AUM fees. They apply a 3–5× multiple to planning fees. They apply approximately 0× to deal carry and alternatives.
Every dollar of AUM revenue is worth 3–4x more at exit than every dollar of planning revenue. This changes every priority decision you make in the next 36 months.
Price Per Close
$15K
Warm leads, 83% margin
Closes Needed
34
Per month at target
Monthly Gross
$500K
$6M annualized
Net After CAC
$415K
$85K CAC budget/mo
Scenario Analysis by Close Rate
| Close Rate | Appts/Month | Appts/Day | Closes | Gross Revenue | Net After CAC | AUM Conversion (30%) |
|---|
| 40% | 85 | 3.9 | 34 | $510,000 | $425,000 | ~10 new AUM clients |
| 50% — Target ★ | 68 | 3.1 | 34 | $510,000 | $425,000 | ~10 new AUM clients |
| 60% — Warm Leads | 57 | 2.6 | 34 | $510,000 | $425,000 | ~10 new AUM clients |
The AUM Bridge — What Most Miss
At 30% conversion of 34 monthly tax closes to AUM clients, assuming $1M average AUM per client, you're adding $10M in AUM per month from the tax plan funnel alone. That's $120M/year from your existing sales engine — before you acquire a single advisor book. This is the flywheel mechanism. Lacee and the tax plan machine aren't just a cash engine — they're your primary AUM acquisition system.
90-Day Ramp to Full Run Rate
Month 01
Build the Machine
Target: 10 closes / $150K
- ICP defined in writing
- Lacee workflow and scripts live
- CRM pipeline configured
- Pre-call confirmation sequence
- Dana closes all — track every metric
- Validate $2,500 CAC assumption
Month 02
Optimize the Funnel
Target: 20 closes / $300K
- A/B test outreach variants
- Show rate review — adjust if below 75%
- Ryan shadows 6+ calls
- Top lead sources identified — double down
- AUM transition script tested on 5 closed clients
- Weekly KPI review: Dana + Lacee
Month 03
Full Run Rate
Target: 34 closes / $510K
- Ryan certified — 8–10 closes/month
- Dana: 24–26 closes/month
- AUM transition pipeline live
- First Family CFO upgrades from tax clients
- Ticket price review: move to $18K?
- First advisor book conversation started
Target Advisor Profile
| Criteria | Target | Why It Matters |
|---|
| Age | 55–72 years old | Natural succession urgency, not shopping for top dollar |
| AUM | $20M–$100M | Large enough to matter, small enough to acquire at 2–2.5× revenue without capital strain |
| Structure | Solo or 1–2 person team | Minimal overhead, no competing internal succession candidates |
| Client type | Business owners, retirees, UHNW families | Upgrade potential is highest — your diagnostic finds $287K+ in inefficiency in these profiles |
| Pain | No succession plan, compliance fatigue, plateaued growth | This is your entry point — you're solving their problem, not just buying a number |
| Ideal | $50M AUM, solo, 65+, no plan | $400–$500K recurring revenue at 85bps. Acquisition cost ~$1M. Payback <2.5 years. |
Deal Economics Per Acquisition
Book Size
$50M
AUM acquired
Annual Revenue
$425K
At 85 bps blended
Acquisition Cost
~$1M
2.3× revenue, 30–40% upfront
Payback Period
2.3yr
At 90% retention
Acquisition Pitch Framework — What You Lead With
"Most advisors in your position either sell too late, to the wrong buyer, or for less than they should get. I'm not an aggregator — I'm building a coordinated wealth architecture platform. Your clients don't just need a new custodian. They need tax strategy, income engineering, and coordination. That's what we bring. I'll increase the value your clients receive, protect the relationships you've spent 30 years building, and give you a real succession — not a handoff."
Deal Structure
- Price: 2.0–2.5× trailing 12-month revenue (not AUM)
- Structure: 30–40% upfront, 60–70% as earn-out tied to 36-month client retention and revenue retention
- Seller stay period: 6–12 months joint client management — critical for retention
- First 90 days post-close: Joint client calls, introduce tax strategy layer, do NOT change investments immediately, do NOT overwhelm
- Capital source: Tax plan cash flow funds upfront payments. Earn-out is self-financing from acquired revenue.
Your Competitive Edge in Acquisition Conversations
You're not competing on price. You're competing on what happens to their clients after. Bring the Lincoln Park sample diagnostic report to every advisor meeting. Show them what their clients will receive — a 12-point proprietary diagnostic, 6 index scores, a written wealth architecture — and ask them when their clients last received anything like it. The answer is never. That's why you win the deal at 2× instead of 3×.
24-Month Acquisition Target
| Timeline | Books Acquired | AUM Added | Cumulative AUM | Recurring Revenue Added | Acquisition Cost |
|---|
| Month 6–12 | 1 book | $50M | $50M | $425K | ~$1M |
| Month 12–18 | 2 books | $100M | $150M | $850K | ~$2M |
| Month 18–24 | 2 books | $100M | $250M | $850K | ~$2M |
| + Organic (tax plan conversion) | — | $120M+ | $370M+ | $1.02M | Already funded by CAC |
| Year 3 Total AUM | $370M–$500M | $3.1M–$4.25M ARR | — |
The Cornell Capital Flywheel
Every component feeds the next. Nothing is siloed.
1
Warm Lead → Tax Plan Close
Lacee sets appt. Dana/Ryan closes $15K.
→
2
Tax Client → Family CFO
Diagnostic delivers ROI. Upgrade to $24–30K retainer.
→
3
Family CFO → AUM Transfer
Ryan captures $500K–$3M AUM per client.
→
4
AUM + Planning → Advisor Referrals
WAN advisors see results, send more clients.
→
5
Cash Flow → Book Acquisitions
Tax plan cash funds advisor book buyouts at 2–2.5×.
What This Flywheel Does That GPT's Model Doesn't Capture
GPT describes the flywheel conceptually. Here's what it actually means in practice: your tax plan operation is secretly your lowest-CAC AUM acquisition channel. A client who has paid you $15,000 for a tax plan, seen $60–120K in savings, and now trusts you completely — is the cheapest AUM prospect you'll ever find. The $2,500 CAC that closed the tax plan also sourced $1M in AUM. That makes your effective AUM CAC approximately $8.33/bps — which is extraordinary in this industry.
The WAN channel multiplies this: advisors who refer clients for tax plans build trust, see your diagnostic system work, and eventually refer Family CFO clients or transition their own book to you. WAN is both an AUM feeder and an acquisition pipeline for advisor books. That's the double-leverage nobody else is seeing.
What Rollup Buyers Actually Pay For
| Revenue Type | Exit Multiple | Stability | Your Year 3 Target | Exit Value Contribution |
|---|
| AUM management fees (recurring) | 10–15× | Very High | $2.55M–$4.5M ARR | $25.5M–$67.5M |
| Planning retainers (Family CFO) | 6–8× | High | $1.2M–$1.8M ARR | $7.2M–$14.4M |
| Tax plan fees (recurring clients) | 3–5× | Medium | $900K ARR (renewal base) | $2.7M–$4.5M |
| One-time planning fees | 1–2× | Low | Minimize at exit | Nominal |
| Deal carry / alternatives | 0–1× | Very Low | Zero by exit | $0 |
| Blended Enterprise Value — Base Case | $35M–$86M |
The Exit Numbers
Base case at Year 3–5. All figures assume clean compliance, 90%+ retention, and documented recurring revenue.
AUM at Exit
$300M–$500M
Acquired + organic conversion
Recurring ARR
$4.5M–$7M
AUM + planning + WAN retainers
Blended Multiple
10–12×
RIA rollup buyer range
Target Enterprise Value at Year 3–5 Exit
$45M – $84M
What Makes You Command the High End of the Range
Proprietary technology / IP: The ValuCompass™, IAA™, and 6 diagnostic indexes are defensible IP that most RIAs don't have. A buyer sees this as a client acquisition and retention system, not just a services firm — and they price it accordingly.
The WAN channel: 10–20 advisor relationships that consistently refer clients is a distribution asset. A rollup buyer knows this takes years to build. They'll pay for it.
Clean compliance structure: No alternatives, no deals, no complexity at the entity level. The simpler the business looks at due diligence, the higher the multiple. Every messy deal you avoid between now and exit is worth more than its direct revenue.
Documented systems: Lacee's playbook, Ryan's closer certification, the intake forms, the client portal — these show a buyer that the business runs without you personally. That's the difference between 10× and 14×.
Days 1–30
Foundations
Priority: Cash + Compliance
- Tax plan machine live: Lacee at cadence, Dana closing
- RIA registration / compliance review initiated — get clean or get compliant
- Resolve brand question: Lincoln Park vs. Cornell Capital. Pick one operating entity.
- Carey partnership agreement signed
- Ryan training program started (Modules 1–2)
- List of 20 target advisors for book acquisition compiled
- AUM transition script drafted and tested on 3 tax clients
Days 31–60
Activate
Priority: AUM + Relationships
- Ryan certified for tax plan closes (Modules 3–4)
- First 3 tax clients transitioned to AUM management
- First advisor acquisition conversation initiated
- WAN — Carey has first 10 advisor conversations
- Family CFO intake funnel tested with 5 leads
- KPI dashboard live: weekly review Dana + Lacee + Ryan
- Carey's draw tracking system established
Days 61–90
Compound
Priority: Scale + Exit Alignment
- 34 closes/month achieved — full tax plan run rate
- First advisor book LOI signed or in negotiation
- $25M–$50M AUM documented under management
- 3–5 WAN advisor partners active
- First Family CFO client on retainer from tax plan pipeline
- Compliance review complete — clean structure confirmed
- Preliminary rollup conversations scoped (who are the 3 target acquirers?)
The One Thing
If you could only do one thing in the next 90 days that compounds the most, it's this: close the first tax plan client and immediately have the AUM conversation. Not after 6 months. Not after they've "settled in." In the same meeting where they feel the win of the tax savings diagnosis. That conversion, if you get it right, proves the flywheel works. Every system in this document is designed to do that at scale.
The exit is real. The numbers are sound. The assets — your diagnostic system, your brand, your team — are already built. What's left is execution sequenced correctly. That's what this plan is.
Weekly Execution Rhythm
| Meeting | Who | Frequency | Purpose |
|---|
| Pipeline Review | Dana + Lacee | Monday AM, 15 min | Appointments set, show rate, close rate, CAC |
| Closer Debrief | Dana + Ryan | Wednesday, 30 min | Call review, scorecard, AUM conversion status |
| WAN Check-In | Dana + Carey | Thursday, 20 min | Advisor pipeline, Family CFO referrals, relationship flags |
| Acquisition Tracker | Dana solo | Friday, 20 min | Advisor book pipeline, LOI status, integration planning |
| Monthly KPI Review | Full team | First Monday/month, 60 min | All revenue lines, AUM, pipeline, exit progress |