Board-level reverse-PE advisory

Leader Run, Owner Free.

Most owners can't leave. We are the boardroom around the owner — so the asset you've built is yours to sell, transfer, step back from, or keep.

25+
Years operating
& advising
1,000+
Leaders & owners
advised
12+
Countries
worked across
Clarity Alignment Action Board-level discipline Leader Run, Owner Free Built to transfer True Ownership™

Where to begin

Four programs. One methodology.

Real ownership compounds. The programs aren't one-and-done — they're a continuum, designed to build sustainable momentum across years, not weeks. Four altitudes. One methodology. One boardroom. Each AG45 program engages owner-led businesses at a different altitude — built on the same True Ownership™ methodology, applied where the work fits. Each is a complete engagement on its own. Together, they form the path from operator-run to leader-run — and many owners graduate from one to the next as their business evolves.

Find the program that fits where you are.

Recommended path

Build the foundation. Before there's a team to lead.

As a solopreneur, you are the entire operation. Leverage comes from systems and structure — but only the right ones. Built without clarity, they cost you time. Built with clarity, they compound. The Ownership Blueprint™ takes you through the True Ownership™ methodology in a self-directed format. Forty-five days. Phase 1 (Own It) builds your Map of Me™ — your Soulful Strategic Operating Document. Phase 2 (Build It) builds the systems, structure, and operating discipline that fit. The on-ramp into the firm.

The Ownership Blueprint™
Self-directed digital · 45 days
A self-directed digital application of the True Ownership™ methodology. Phase 1 (Own It) launches summer 2026 — your Map of Me™ as a Soulful Strategic Operating Document. Phase 2 (Build It) launches late 2026 — the systems, structure, and operating discipline built on the foundation Phase 1 creates.
Best if you Are building solo
Format Self-serve, no application
Download The 5A Framework

Recommended path

You're the leader and the operator. Two ways to change that.

Your business has staff but it doesn't yet have leadership — you're doing both jobs. At this stage, two AG45 programs fit. The Ownership Blueprint™ is self-directed — yourself first, your business second, applied through the True Ownership™ methodology. The Owner's Circle™ is a peer Board that holds you accountable. Either one is a real path forward. Some owners do one, some do the other, and some sequence them. Your call.

Two paths Either one fits — pick the one that matches how you want to work.
Path A · Self-directed
The Ownership Blueprint™
Self-directed digital · 45 days
Yourself first, your business second. Phase 1 (Own It) builds your Map of Me™ — your Soulful Strategic Operating Document. Phase 2 (Build It) builds the systems, structure, and operating discipline on top of it. Self-directed, on your own schedule. The on-ramp into the firm.
Best if you Want to work alone first
Format Self-serve, no application
Download The 5A Framework Learn more →
or
Path B · Peer Board
The Owner's Circle™
Group of 4 · Strategist-led · Virtual
Four non-competing owners — your peer Board, led by an AG45 strategist. The members bring the businesses. The strategist brings the methodology. The room becomes the Board.
Best if you Want a room that holds you
Entry True Owner's Audit™
Download The 5A Framework Learn more →

Recommended path

Leaders are forming. Two ways to shape them.

You have one or two people stepping up — the transition from owner-led to leader-run is in motion, but it's not complete. At this stage, two AG45 programs fit. Strategic Cadence™ gives you a 1:1 strategist on a monthly cadence with Board-level advisors behind the scene. The Owner's Circle™ gives you a peer Board of four non-competing owners. Either one is a real path forward. Some owners do one, some do the other. Your call.

Two paths Either one fits — pick the one that matches how you want to work.
Path A · 1:1 strategist
Strategic Cadence™
Monthly 1:1 strategist · 12-month minimum
A 1:1 monthly engagement applying the True Ownership™ methodology. Monthly strategist time, quarterly reviews, with Board-level advisors behind the scene. The bridge between the Owner's Circle and Leader Run.
Best if you Want a dedicated strategist
Entry True Owner's Audit™
Download The 5A Framework Learn more →
or
Path B · Peer Board
The Owner's Circle™
Group of 4 · Strategist-led · Virtual
Your peer Board, led by an AG45 strategist. Four non-competing owners who think strategically and are ready to act between sessions. The members bring the businesses. The strategist brings the methodology.
Best if you Want a peer Board
Entry True Owner's Audit™
Download The 5A Framework Learn more →

Recommended path

Ready to make the transition to leader-run.

You have four or more leaders running departments — the leadership team is in place, but the transition from owner-led to leader-run is the actual work. This is where governance, exit-readiness, and transferable enterprise value become the question. Leader Run™ is AG45's flagship — a multi-year engagement, typically 3 to 5 years, of board-level work with a Board of Advisors (the Strategic Council) assembled around you. The work prepares the owner to break free of the business — whether that's succession, sale, or going passive while retaining ownership.

Leader Run™
Multi-year engagement + ongoing advisory
A Board of Advisors (the Strategic Council) assembled around the owner — Lead Strategist plus a team of specialist advisors drawn from across functional, financial, transactional, and external-relationship specialties. A multi-year engagement of board-level work that prepares the business — and the owner — for what comes next. Whether that's succession, sale, or going passive while retaining ownership, Leader Run™ produces the asset and the freedom to choose.
Best if you Have 4+ leaders in place
Entry Discovery call
Download The 5A Framework

The Firm

Board-level discipline. On yourself first.
Your business second.

AG45 is a pure strategic advisory firm. We don't take equity. We don't execute. We assemble a Strategic Council around the owner, run the True Ownership™ methodology across four programs at four altitudes, and hold the work to a board-level standard.

01
True Ownership™ Methodology
Five disciplines applied across the owner, the leadership team, and the governance system. Refined through more than 25 years of advisory work. The methodology that powers every AG45 program.
02
Lived Experience as Credential
AG45 was founded by an operator who has personally weathered the full arc — building, scaling, surviving fraud, and rebuilding. Board-level discipline isn't theory at AG45. It's the lesson the founder learned the hard way.
03
Built to Transfer
Every business should be built to transfer from day one — but few are. By the time the owner is ready to step away, the business often can't run without them. Leader Run™ produces a business that operates without the founder. Whether the owner sells, transfers, steps aside, or holds and grows, the asset is real — and the choice is theirs.

Selected engagements

Owner-led businesses we've partnered with.

Roofing & Siding · Family-owned · Leader Run™ engagement
Transferability rising
From founder-dependent to founder-optional.
A family-owned operation where the owner was the business. AG45 is leading the multi-year work to remove operational dependence on the founder, develop the leadership team into authority, and build the kind of business that gives the owner real choices about what comes next. Profitability is up. Transferability is rising. Valuation is moving with it.
HVAC Services · 25-Year Family Business · Strategic Cadence™ engagement
Profitability up
Operational tightening + a wealth strategy that holds.
A multi-generational family HVAC business that worked through Strategic Cadence to address profitability and the owner's broader wealth strategy. Monthly 1:1 strategic discipline turned operational tightening into measurable profit improvement, while specialist advisors were brought in behind the scene to align personal and business financial planning.
Construction · Family-owned · Strategic Cadence™ engagement
Growth phase
Systems built. Margin discipline installed.
A family-owned construction business working through Strategic Cadence to build the systems, margin discipline, and operational structure required for the next phase of growth. Monthly 1:1 strategic work is installing the foundation; profitability is rising; the business is positioned for expansion.
Regional Community Bank · Leader Run™ engagement
Strategic alignment
From divided priorities to one direction.
A regional community bank with competing priorities between the Board, CEO, and Executive team. AG45 is leading the multi-year Leader Run™ engagement that's installing strategic discipline, long-term planning, and the operating rhythm of a leader-run institution. The Board, CEO, and leadership team are aligned around one direction; relationship-banking culture is being rebuilt internally and with customers.

Leadership

The architect behind the methodology.

Katherine Breuss
Founder & CEO

25+ years across entrepreneurship, operating, advising, and coaching — lived in 4 countries (U.S., U.K., Singapore, Australia), worked across 12+. Architect of the True Ownership™ methodology that powers every AG45 engagement. Discernment through chaos and change — and the right people at the table to do something about it.

Read full biography →

The firm and the framework

One firm. One methodology.

AG45 is a board-level reverse-PE advisory firm. The work is to build the asset PE firms would buy — leader-run businesses where the owner has real choices. Every engagement runs on True Ownership™, a proprietary methodology developed over 25+ years of building, scaling, and rebuilding businesses.

The Firm
AccelerateGrowth45

Board-level reverse-PE advisory. Four programs at four altitudes — from the self-directed Blueprint to the multi-year Leader Run™ engagement.

See the programs →
The Methodology
True Ownership™

A proprietary framework built on the 5As — All In It, Align With It, Advocate For It, Act On It, Accountable To It. Powers every AG45 engagement.

Download the 5A Framework →

"The hard path is the one I've walked. That's why this works."

Katherine Breuss
Founder & CEO

Begin

Begin where you are.

Take the True Owner's Audit™ to see where you are across the 5A Framework and which AG45 program fits where you are right now. It's the entry point for The Owner's Circle™, Strategic Cadence™, and the path toward Leader Run™.