2027 EXIT PLANNING SUMMIT SPONSORS

Cornerstone Business Services

www.cornerstone-business.com/

Cornerstone Business Services is a lower middle-market investment banking firm headquartered in Wisconsin. For more than 25 years, Cornerstone has helped founder-led and family-owned businesses navigate the complexities of selling their companies. Many of these owners are first-time sellers facing one of the most significant business decisions and financial transactions of their lives. Cornerstone provides the expertise, guidance, and strategic support they need to make informed decisions, maximize value, and transition confidently into their next chapter.

Cornerstone works with clients nationwide, primarily serving businesses with approximately $5 million to $250 million in annual revenue. The firm focuses on two core service areas:

• Real Market Analysis (RMA): Provides business owners with a clear understanding of what their company may be worth in today's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) marketplace. The RMA, ideally done at the Discovery gate of the Value Acceleration Methodology™ (VAM), helps owners evaluate their options, establish realistic expectations, and make informed decisions about their future.
• Sell-Side M&A: Guides business owners through the process of selling their companies, from understanding market value and preparing for a transaction to identifying qualified buyers and negotiating offers. Cornerstone's approach is designed to generate competitive interest, maximize value, and help owners achieve the outcomes that matter most to them, whether financial, personal, or legacy-driven.
• Real Results: At the core of Cornerstone's approach is its proprietary Assurance 360™ Process, a structured M&A process designed to create competition among qualified buyers and drive premium outcomes. Rather than relying on a single buyer or offer, Cornerstone works to create POMO™, The Power of Multiple Offers, which creates competition, scarcity, and urgency among buyers and helps owners evaluate their options and negotiate from a position of strength. Beyond financial value, multiple offers can provide greater flexibility to prioritize the terms that matter most, including the buyer's vision for the business, employee continuity, legacy, and the owner's plans for life after the sale.

Cornerstone's ultimate goal is to help business owners Finish Strong by exiting on their terms and moving into their next chapter with clarity, confidence, and peace of mind.

Cornerstone is the founding member of the Cornerstone International Alliance, a global network of more than 200 investment bankers spanning five continents. The alliance expands Cornerstone’s access to qualified buyers, industry expertise, and cross-border relationships, helping lower middle-market clients pursue opportunities in domestic and international markets. In 2025, alliance members completed more than 300 transactions representing a combined enterprise value of $2.5 billion.

CAPEX, the Cornerstone Advisory Partners Exit Program, helps financial advisors and other trusted professionals guide business-owning clients through the exit process while maintaining their role as trusted partners. With more than 30 years of experience, CAPEX provides tools, assessments, questionnaires, and resources to help advisors initiate exit conversations, build a qualified deal team, and stay involved throughout the transaction. By proactively planning for the transition of business wealth into personal wealth, CAPEX helps advisors support successful business exits while positioning themselves to retain and grow assets under management (AUM) after the sale.

Beginning in January 2027, Cornerstone will start the National Business Brokerage Council (NBBC), a network of vetted, best-in-class business brokerage firms that support transactions involving smaller businesses, particularly those with less than $5 million in annual revenue. This national alliance will expand Cornerstone’s access to trusted brokerage partners, helping connect the trusted advisor and their business owner clients with the appropriate resources and expertise to support successful transactions, regardless of business size.

Cornerstone is excited to be part of the EPI community. Whether it is the RMA at the Discovery Gate or taking your client to market to sell it, we have it covered. We can now help you with business-owner clients generating $500K to $250M in revenue.