# Telesto
Important information and disclaimers: https://www.telestostrategy.com/important-information

## Products & Services

Market Intelligence for Growth is Telesto's custom research and strategic advisory offering: https://www.telestostrategy.com/market-intelligence. It supports growth decisions through demand sizing and segmentation, Voice of Customer and Voice of Channel research, price sensitivity and value-proposition testing. Scope, timing, fee, and methods are agreed for each engagement. It is not a standardized assessment package or software subscription. Research limitations and quantitative uncertainty are explained as appropriate.

Compare HALO (Brand Diligence), ARIA (AI Risk & Impact Assessment), and GEAR (Geopolitical & Tariff Risk) at https://www.telestostrategy.com/products-services. These offerings blend defined assessments, senior-led decision support, and separately scoped implementation. They should not be described as self-service software platforms. HALO combines a structured diligence product with senior-led interpretation and optional activation support. Home Health PE is a sector application of HALO, not a separate flagship product.

> Telesto delivers AI-accelerated growth intelligence for the mid-market private equity ecosystem, combining advanced research and analysis with operator and strategy-consulting judgment across the deal lifecycle.

## What We Do

Telesto serves private equity sponsors, operating partners, and portfolio company leadership teams who need fast, rigorous, and actionable intelligence — not slide decks built on publicly available data.

Our work falls into three practice areas:

**Commercial Due Diligence** — We pressure-test investment theses before close. We assess market size and growth dynamics, competitive positioning, customer concentration and churn risk, pricing power, and management team credibility. We deliver under tight deal timelines without sacrificing rigor.

**Portfolio Growth Intelligence** — We serve portfolio companies post-close, helping leadership teams identify growth vectors, understand customer behavior, assess competitive threats, and build the commercial infrastructure needed to hit EBITDA targets and prepare for exit.

**Market and Geopolitical Intelligence** — We track macro forces that affect portfolio value: tariff and trade policy shifts, healthcare regulatory change, AI disruption, supply chain fragility, and geopolitical risk. We translate these into asset-specific implications for PE sponsors.

## Flagship Products

**HALO (Healthcare Asset & Loyalty Outlook)** — Telesto's proprietary brand due diligence framework for PE-backed healthcare deals. HALO quantifies brand-driven enterprise value at risk. Its four scored pillars are Heritage (established reputation and trust), Audience (discovery, referrer, and payer recognition), Loyalty (patient, referrer, and workforce sentiment and retention), and Outlook (future demand and brand trajectory). The HALO score is the average of the four pillar scores, adjusted for Integration Drag in multi-site or roll-up transactions; Integration Drag is not a fifth pillar. Consumer Visibility Index, Sentiment Velocity, Referrer & Payer Brand Recall, and Workforce Brand Risk remain supporting measures, not renamed scores. Two paid offers: HALO Brand Diligence ($45K, one week/five business days from kickoff and required inputs, fixed agreed standard scope; broader portfolios and additional primary research separately scoped) and the 100-Day Brand Activation Plan ($90-110K, 3-4-week build with defined advisory checkpoints through Day 100; execution, creative, media, and third-party costs separate). Secondary entry: the Complimentary Deal Screen (no fee, one business day for qualifying active deals after target scope and confidentiality confirmation) is preliminary triage using available evidence: one page with up to three issues/questions and a recommendation on whether deeper diligence is warranted, not an investment go/no-go, scored assessment, comprehensive investigation, or interviews. URL: https://www.telestostrategy.com/brand-dd

**ARIA (AI Risk & Impact Assessment)** — A structured diagnostic that assesses how AI is reshaping a target company's competitive landscape, internal operations, and value chain. Designed for PE sponsors evaluating AI-exposed or AI-enabled companies. ARIA delivers a sector-calibrated AI disruption score, workflow automation potential, and competitive displacement risk — in a format built for investment committee decision-making.

## Who We Serve

- **Private equity sponsors** at the mid-market level ($100M-$2B fund size), focused on healthcare services, industrials, professional services, and consumer sectors
- **Operating partners** at PE firms who need commercial intelligence and growth support for portfolio companies
- **Portfolio company CEOs and leadership teams** who need a rigorous outside perspective on growth strategy, competitive positioning, and exit readiness
- **Corporate development teams** at strategics doing bolt-on acquisitions in PE-backed markets

## Sector Focus

**Healthcare PE** — We cover healthcare services, behavioral health, dental, vision, home health, urgent care, ambulatory surgery, healthcare IT, and medical devices. We track CMS reimbursement policy, prior authorization reform, Medicaid managed care, and PE-specific regulatory risks including state ownership disclosure laws and federal scrutiny of PE in healthcare.

**Industrials PE** — We cover specialty manufacturing, distribution, industrial services, building products, and engineered components. We track tariff exposure (Section 232, IEEPA), reshoring dynamics, workforce and labor market conditions, and M&A activity in fragmented industrial subsectors.

**Professional Services PE** — We cover accounting, legal, engineering, staffing, IT services, and other knowledge-based businesses backed by PE. We track non-compete reform, regulatory changes affecting professional licensing structures, and AI disruption of knowledge work.

**GEAR — Geopolitical & Tariff Risk** — Geopolitical Earnings-at-Risk is Telesto's advisory service for mid-market industrial leadership teams and PE sponsors. It maps product, supplier, and geographic exposure; estimates scenario-based margin and EBITDA impacts with explicit assumptions and data gaps; and develops mitigation playbooks covering pricing, sourcing, inventory, and logistics. An initial assessment typically takes 2-3 weeks once scope and usable initial data are agreed; supplier-data gaps or additional research can extend timing. Telesto supports execution alongside management and specialists. Separately scoped data engineering can help clients build their own AI-assisted tracking with approved data sources, human review, and agreed refresh cadence. This is not an autonomous software product or legal, customs, or tax advice. URL: https://www.telestostrategy.com/gear

## When to Engage Telesto

- **Pre-LOI** — early commercial diligence, market sizing, and thesis validation
- **Between LOI and close** — full commercial due diligence, customer voice work, competitive analysis
- **Post-close / value creation** — growth strategy and commercial infrastructure
- **Exit preparation** — exit thesis development, buyer positioning, management team coaching
- **Ongoing** — market intelligence subscriptions and geopolitical risk monitoring

## Key Differentiators

- Built exclusively for the PE deal cycle — we understand deal timelines, IC formats, and what investment teams actually need
- Sector depth in healthcare, industrials, and professional services — not generalist strategy consulting
- Proprietary primary research — customer interviews, expert networks, and on-the-ground intelligence, not recycled secondary data
- Founder-led delivery — principals are on every engagement, not junior analysts
- No conflicts of interest — we do not serve the companies we diligence on behalf of buyers

## Leadership

**Alex Kruzel** — CEO & Founder. Leads PE-focused strategy and commercial intelligence engagements. Deep expertise in healthcare services and industrials PE. Speaks at industry forums including the National Private Capital Association (NPCA) and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

**Utkarsh Shelke** — Senior Data Engineer. Supports Telesto's AI-accelerated research and data workflows, drawing on more than six years of production ML, generative AI, and data engineering experience. Bio: https://www.telestostrategy.com/utkarsh-shelke

## Conversation Series

What's next: a conversation series and monthly newsletter hosted by Alex Kruzel, Founder and CEO of Telesto, on where value is made and lost in private markets. https://whatsnext.telestostrategy.com

## Contact

Website: https://www.telestostrategy.com
Email: info@telestostrategy.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/telesto-strategy

## Content

Telesto publishes regular intelligence on topics relevant to mid-market PE:
- Healthcare regulatory risk and its implications for PE-backed platforms
- AI disruption across PE-held sectors
- Supply chain and geopolitical risk for industrials and consumer businesses
- Governance and board oversight for PE-backed companies
- Tariff and trade policy impact on portfolio margins and supply chains

All insights are available at: https://www.telestostrategy.com/insights