Turnaround Services
We restore distressed companies to operational and financial health through hands-on execution. This includes 13-week cash flow management, working capital optimization, operational stabilization, and rebuilding leadership capacity. Principal-led engagements for PE portfolio companies and owner-operators when the stakes are highest.
When the Situation Demands Execution,
Not Advice
Turnaround situations do not reward deliberation. Cash is tight. Confidence is eroding. Every week of inaction accelerates decline. The difference between recovery and failure often comes down to one factor: whether the people in the room have done this before.
323 Ocean provides operational turnaround execution for mid-market companies facing crisis. We do not deliver presentations and leave you to implement. We take direct accountability for results, whether serving as interim CEO or COO with full operational authority, or working hands-on alongside existing leadership to drive the recovery.
Our founder has navigated this personally. When the 2020 pandemic caused 70% business attrition at his company, the conventional response would have been to sell for scraps or shut down. Instead, he rebuilt the operating model from the foundation and achieved record earnings within nine months. That experience, combined with two subsequent dramatic turnarounds for PE-backed portfolio companies, shapes every engagement.
This is operational turnaround, not bankruptcy. We restore companies to health before formal restructuring becomes necessary.
Core Capabilities
Operational crisis requires immediate triage. We assess the situation rapidly, identify the critical failure points, and implement stabilization measures within the first two weeks.
Cash Flow Management: We install 13-week rolling cash flow forecasting and management, the foundation of every successful turnaround. This provides the visibility required to make informed decisions and demonstrates control to lenders and stakeholders.
Working Capital Optimization: We analyze receivables, payables, and inventory to unlock trapped cash. Accelerating collections, renegotiating vendor terms, and right-sizing inventory often generate immediate liquidity without external financing.
Cost Structure Rationalization: We evaluate every expense against its contribution to recovery. This includes workforce right-sizing, facility consolidation, contract renegotiation, and elimination of non-essential spending.
Operational Process Repair: We identify and fix the broken processes that caused or accelerated the crisis, establishing the operational discipline required for sustainable recovery.
Financial turnaround starts with control. Before pursuing external solutions, we establish internal financial discipline that demonstrates competence to lenders, investors, and stakeholders.
Debt and Credit Management: We work with lenders to negotiate forbearance agreements, covenant resets, and revised payment terms. Our goal is preserving relationships while creating runway for operational recovery.
Payables Management: We develop prioritized payment strategies that maintain critical vendor relationships while managing cash. Strategic communication with vendors often yields extended terms and preserved supply chains.
Capital Raise Support: When external capital is required, we prepare the documentation, projections, and operational narrative that sophisticated investors require. We position the company for bridge financing, equity infusion, or alternative capital structures.
Financial Reporting Discipline: We establish the reporting cadence and metrics that provide real-time visibility into recovery progress. Lenders and boards require confidence that leadership understands the numbers.
Every turnaround is ultimately a leadership challenge. The same team that led the company into crisis rarely possesses the capability or credibility to lead the recovery. We address this directly.
Management Assessment: We evaluate the existing leadership team’s capacity to execute the turnaround. This assessment is candid and fast. Some leaders rise to the challenge. Others require replacement or reassignment.
Interim Executive Leadership: When leadership gaps exist, our founder serves as interim CEO or COO with full operational authority. This is not advisory. This is direct accountability for results.
Team Stabilization: Crisis erodes morale and retention. We implement communication strategies and retention measures that preserve critical talent through the turnaround period.
Culture Reset: Distressed companies often suffer from cultures of blame, avoidance, and fear. We establish accountability without blame, rebuild trust, and create the psychological safety required for honest problem-solving.
Flexible Engagement Based on Your Situation
Every turnaround situation is different. Some companies have capable leadership that needs hands-on support and expertise. Others have leadership gaps that require interim executive placement. We adapt our engagement model based on assessment of your specific situation.
Advisory Engagement
We work alongside your existing leadership team, providing hands-on guidance, frameworks, and accountability while your team executes. Appropriate when leadership is capable but overwhelmed or lacking turnaround experience.
Interim Executive Engagement
Our founder serves as interim CEO or COO with direct operational authority. Appropriate when leadership gaps exist, when the board requires independent operational control, or when the severity of the situation demands experienced executive leadership.
Results When Recovery Seemed Impossible
Case Study 1
The Pandemic Recovery
From 70% Attrition to Record Earnings
When the 2020 pandemic caused 70% customer attrition virtually overnight, conventional wisdom suggested selling for whatever the market would bear. Instead, we rebuilt the operating model from the foundation: restructured the cost base, renegotiated every contract, automated operations, and secured new national accounts. The result was record earnings within nine months. The company later achieved a successful exit at a multiple that would have been impossible without the turnaround.
Case Study 2
Recurring Services Business
PE Portfolio Company: Recurring Services Business
A PE-backed recurring services business faced severe operational dysfunction and cash flow crisis. Within six months of engagement, we stabilized cash flow through 13-week discipline, restructured the leadership team, and implemented operational controls that restored EBITDA margins. The company moved from active distress to stable operations, preserving the sponsor’s investment and positioning for eventual exit.
Case Study 3
Healthcare Finance Services
PE Portfolio Company: Outsourced Healthcare Finance Services
An outsourced business services firm supporting healthcare finance faced compounding operational and financial challenges that threatened viability. We implemented immediate cash conservation measures, restructured vendor relationships, and rebuilt the operational delivery model. The engagement required both advisory guidance and interim leadership involvement. The company returned to sustainable operations within eight months.
Who We Work With
Private Equity Sponsors
When a portfolio company is underperforming, burning cash, or facing operational crisis, time is the enemy. We provide the operational execution capability to stabilize the situation, protect your investment, and create a path to recovery or exit. Our principal-led model means senior experience on site, not junior consultants learning on your dime.
Company Owners and CEOs
If your company is in crisis, you do not need another consultant to tell you what is wrong. You need someone who has navigated this before and will take direct accountability for the recovery. We provide hands-on operational leadership, not presentations. We work alongside you or step into leadership roles as the situation requires.
What We Do Not Do
We are not bankruptcy attorneys
When formal Chapter 11 proceedings are required, we partner with qualified restructuring counsel while providing operational support.
We are not financial restructuring specialists
Complex debt renegotiation, creditor committee representation, and court-supervised reorganization require specialized expertise we do not claim.
We focus on operational turnaround
The leadership, process, and execution work that returns companies to health before formal restructuring becomes necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Turnaround situations demand urgency. We can typically begin assessment within one week of engagement. The first two weeks focus on rapid triage: understanding the cash position, identifying immediate threats, and implementing stabilization measures. Full turnaround execution follows.
Most operational turnarounds require six to eighteen months depending on severity and complexity. The first phase focuses on stabilization (typically 90 days). The second phase focuses on rebuilding sustainable operations. The third phase transitions to ongoing management.
Consultants analyze, recommend, and leave. We execute. Whether in an advisory role or as interim executives, we take direct accountability for results. We do not deliver presentations about what should happen. We make it happen.
We focus on mid-market companies, typically $5M to $50M in revenue. This is the range where major turnaround firms are often overbuilt and expensive, while generalist advisors lack the specialized expertise required.
Our focus is operational turnaround before formal restructuring. If Chapter 11 is already filed or imminent, we can provide operational support alongside qualified restructuring counsel, but we do not lead bankruptcy proceedings.
Time Is the Enemy in Turnaround Situations
Every week of inaction accelerates decline. If your company or portfolio company is facing operational distress, the conversation costs nothing and the delay costs everything. We will assess the situation, provide a candid evaluation, and determine whether 323 Ocean is the right fit.