Operator-Led Advisory

Strategic advisory for companies ready to scale.

We work with founders doing $2M-$20M in revenue who need a senior operator in their corner — not a slide deck from a consultant who's never run anything.

$500M+
Assets Managed on Wall Street
$300M+
Distressed Assets Advised
8
Health Systems Scaled
30 Day
Outcome Guarantee

Where do you need an operator in your corner?

Deep industry context — not generic playbooks. Click your vertical to start the conversation.

Proven outcomes across industries

Real metrics from real engagements. Numbers that matter to operators, not vanity stats.

30%

Reduced project delivery timeline across 12 active sites through workflow redesign and vendor consolidation. Hit target in under 90 days.

Construction & Roofing
35%

Cut operational overhead while scaling from 50 to 200 employees. Revenue cycle optimization + process standardization across 3 facilities.

Healthcare Operations
2.4x

Increased deal pipeline velocity through process standardization and deal stage modeling. Turned 6-month pipeline into active closes in under 120 days.

Real Estate Advisory
4 Days

Streamlined client onboarding from 3 weeks to 4 days by mapping intake bottlenecks and redesigning the project kickoff workflow from scratch.

Architectural Design

Ready for results like these?

Book a 30-Minute Call
New Service

AI Implementation for Mid-Market Operators

Most AI consulting targets Fortune 500 companies or early-stage startups. X Holdings fills the gap: operators doing $2M–$20M who need discovery-led, execution-focused AI implementation — not a roadmap that sits in a drawer.

We assess your workflows, identify real leverage, deploy the right tools, and measure ROI. Available as a standalone engagement or as part of your broader advisory relationship.

Explore AI Consulting → Book Discovery Call →
AI Discovery → Assessment → Roadmap → Implementation
Four-phase process from operations audit to AI running in production — with ROI targets defined before work begins.
Cross-Vertical by Design
Healthcare, construction, real estate, professional services — patterns that work in one vertical often unlock value in another.
Standalone or Bundled
Hire X Holdings for AI consulting on its own — or integrate it into an Execution Partner or Full Advisory engagement.

Carey Grainger

Three decades of building, scaling, and turning around businesses — from Wall Street trading desks to real estate advisory and healthcare operations serving 1,000+ patients monthly.

1993 — 2004 · Wall Street
Lehman Brothers, Salomon Smith Barney, Citigroup
Grew assets under management from $50M to $500M+ across major institutional desks. Built client portfolios through the dot-com boom, bust, and recovery.
2004 — 2009 · Strategic Advisory
Kairos Advisory
Transitioned from institutional finance to direct strategic advisory, counseling growth-stage companies on capital strategy and operational scaling.
2007 — 2012 · Real Estate
Williams Capital · Kairos · General Advisory
Multi-asset class real estate work spanning hospitality, commercial, raw land, conservation easements, and multi-family. Provided capital management advisory to select real estate development companies on acquisition strategy, capital structure, and asset positioning.
2011 — 2023 · Healthcare Operations
Patronus Medical, Guardian 24/7, RTW
Built Patronus from scratch to 8 health systems and 1,000+ consults per month. Advised on $300M+ in distressed healthcare assets. Hands-on operational leadership, not arms-length consulting.
Current
Construction and Roofing Industry · Operational and Financial Turnaround
Active advisory engagement focused on financial restructuring, operational optimization, and return-to-profitability strategy.

X Holdings was incorporated in 2013 to formalize a practice built over two decades: helping mid-market companies navigate the specific challenges that come between early traction and real scale.

The gap between $2M and $20M in revenue is where most companies either break through or stall out. The problems are rarely about product. They're about capital structure, operational discipline, team design, and knowing which fires to let burn.

Carey's background is unusual for advisory: a decade on Wall Street developing institutional-grade financial discipline, followed by multi-asset class real estate work across hospitality, commercial, and development, and 15+ years actually building and operating companies in healthcare — one of the hardest verticals to scale.

That combination — financial acumen plus operational scars — is what clients get. Not frameworks. Not workshops. An operator who's seen the specific version of the problem you're dealing with.

At a Glance
  • 30+ years across finance, real estate, healthcare, and advisory
  • Grew AUM from $50M to $500M+ at Lehman, Salomon, Citigroup
  • Multi-asset class real estate advisory: hospitality, commercial, multi-family, raw land, conservation easements
  • Built Patronus Medical to 8 health systems, 1,000+ consults/mo
  • Advised on $300M+ in distressed asset restructuring
  • Current financial turnaround advisor in the construction and roofing industry
  • Based in the Southeast US

Advisory that fits how you actually work

Three tiers based on how much direct involvement you need. All include weekly touchpoints, Slack access, and async availability. No 12-month lock-in.

Advisory Lite
$2-4K/mo
Strategic guidance on your terms

For founders who need a seasoned sounding board and strategic perspective without full operational involvement.

  • Bi-weekly 60-min strategy calls
  • Async advisory via Slack & email
  • Monthly strategic memo
  • Quarterly business review
Get Started
Full Strategic Advisory
$15-25K/mo
Your fractional Chief of Staff

For companies at an inflection point — fundraising, turnaround, market expansion — where you need a senior strategic partner embedded in the operation.

  • Unlimited advisory access (same-day)
  • Weekly deep-dive sessions
  • Full strategic planning & oversight
  • Board meeting prep & attendance
  • Fundraising & investor materials
  • Executive hiring & org design
  • Monthly KPI dashboard & analysis
  • Crisis management & rapid response
Discuss Your Needs

30-day outcome guarantee. If you don't see measurable progress in the first 30 days, walk away. No questions, no long-term contracts. We earn the next month.

How Does Your Business Stack Up?

60-second diagnostic. Benchmarked against your industry. $29.

Get a clear picture of where you stand — margin health, headcount efficiency, and your growth ceiling — before committing to an advisory engagement.

Get My Score
No commitment required · Instant results

Advisory that actually moves the needle

Most advisory relationships fail because they're built on frameworks instead of execution. Here's how we're different.

vs Quarterly Reviews

Real-Time Execution

Weekly working sessions with async access between calls. Problems don't wait 90 days, so neither should your advisor. You get an operator in your corner every week, not a quarterly check-in that's already stale.

vs Chair Lottery

You Pick Your Advisor

Peer groups like Vistage assign you a Chair. Maybe they've run a business like yours. Maybe they haven't. With X Holdings, you get Carey — 30 years of directly relevant experience across finance, real estate, healthcare, and mid-market operations.

vs 12-Month Lock-In

30-Day Commitment

Traditional advisory firms lock you into annual contracts. We work month-to-month with a 30-day outcome guarantee. If we're not creating measurable value, you leave. That alignment makes us better.

vs Generic Playbooks

Industry-Specific Context

Deep operational experience in healthcare, real estate, construction, and professional services. Not a one-size-fits-all framework — battle-tested pattern recognition from companies in your specific vertical and revenue range.

Vistage / EOS Big Firm Consultants X Holdings
Engagement Cadence Monthly / Quarterly Project-based Weekly + async
Commitment 12 months 6-12 month SOWs 30-day rolling
Who You Work With Assigned Chair Junior associates The principal directly
Execution Support Peer discussion only Deliverables, not outcomes Hands-on execution
Monthly Investment $1.5-2.5K $20-50K+ $2-25K (your choice)

Stay in the loop

Occasional perspectives on strategy, capital, and operations for growth-stage companies. No noise — just signal.

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Ready to work with an operator,
not a consultant?

30-minute intro call. No pitch deck, no pressure. We'll talk about where your business is, where you want it to go, and whether X Holdings is the right fit to help you get there.

"The gap between $3M and $30M isn't a strategy problem. It's an execution problem with a capital structure underneath it."
— Carey Grainger, X Holdings