Post-Acquisition Value Creation Checklist
The deal model does not create value on its own. This 23-page field guide sequences the first 100 days after close — five phases, function-by-function critical checks, and the people calls that decide whether the thesis shows up in operating results.
- 23 pages, zero fluff
- Pre-close to Day 100
- Written by operators
Get the checklist
Your checklist is ready
It should open in a new tab. If it didn't, use the button below — and it's yours to keep or share.
Open the checklist (PDF)What is a post-acquisition value creation checklist?
A post-acquisition value creation checklist is a decision framework used after a deal closes to protect the business you bought and convert the deal thesis into operating results. It sequences the first 100 days into five phases — pre-close planning, Day 1, Days 1–30, Days 31–60, and Days 61–100 — and separates what must be stabilized immediately from what should be integrated later, so continuity comes before synergy.
Five phases. Nine sections. One operating test.
Not a list of admin tasks — a framework for protecting the business you bought and starting value creation on Day 1, built for growth-stage companies in the $10M–$100M range.
The phase-by-phase checklist
Every decision from pre-close scoping through the Day-100 review — governance cadence, run sheets, and the value-creation framework.
Function-by-function critical checks
The one check per function — finance, sales, operations, HR, IT, customer support — that matters more than a hundred soft ones.
The hardest calls are about people
Loyalty, retention, and right-sizing: how to make the people decisions everyone puts off, before they get made for you.
The mistakes that matter most
The ordinary, repeated errors that quietly destroy value — and the instinct-driven traps behind each one.
Where AI fits, and where it does not
What's actually working inside post-acquisition integration today, separated from the noise.
Why operators matter
Why every item on the checklist assumes someone with the experience and authority to run it — and what to do when that seat is empty.
"The deal is won in the boardroom. It is kept or lost in the bullpen."From the white paper
Built for the people inside live deals
PE & VC firms
Lean-infrastructure funds that need portfolio companies stabilized and performing without adding permanent headcount.
Independent sponsors
Deal-by-deal investors who own the outcome personally and can't afford a drifting first 100 days.
Portfolio executives
CEOs and leadership teams running the business through the transition — while the transition runs through them.
The first 100 days decide what the deal is worth.
Get the field guide operators actually use — free, no strings.
Get the checklist