Protect your legacy.

Our mission is to partner with a great entrepreneur on a quick, straightforward exit that protects their team and culture and keeps their business operating - and growing - for the long-term.

About Saddletree

One Firm, One Focus

Saddletree Partners is composed of Rahul Desai and Katherine Butler-Dines, a husband and wife team with a singular focus: identifying, acquiring, and growing one incredible business in the United States.We are not here to manage an investment portfolio or run a satellite division. Our goal is to protect what you have worked hard to create and dedicate all of our professional energies to its ongoing success.

Rahul Desai

Co-Founder

Rahul Desai Headshot

Rahul is an experienced executive with a history of making businesses more efficient and profitable. Here are some highlights:

  • Consulted on product strategy and R&D for Google, Uber, and more.

  • Improved the efficiency of 50+ operational processes impacting 17,000 clients at a national insurance brokerage.

  • Led HR, IT, Finance, Compliance, and Operations at an international startup, helping the business go from $0 to $1 million.

  • Managed regulatory compliance, including monthly filings across all 50 states.

  • Founded & sold an education business to private equity (so I know what it's like).

  • Grew a small business by 40% year over year and achieved margins of 50%, without expanding costs at all.

Katherine Butler-Dines

Co-Founder

Katherine Butler-Dines Headshot

Katherine has a wealth of sales, marketing, and finance experience, exclusively at small to medium businesses. Here are some highlights:

  • Launched a new product line taking it from $0 to $1 million in revenue in under 2 years.

  • Established business development process to drive $100,000+ in new business in under 9 months.

  • Directed corporate events for 300+ attendees that generated $500k in revenue, 3 years in a row.

  • Led website redesign, including search engine optimization, for 3 companies that resulted in 60% increases in monthly traffic, improved search rankings by 100%, and increased web leads by over 100%.

  • Managed finances of $5M revenue PE-owned business, achieving annual budget including 13% revenue growth and 10% margin growth.

Our Criteria

01.
Industry

  • Low cyclicality or seasonality

  • Fragmented competition (lots of small firms)

  • Industry growing yearly

  • High barriers to entry, ideally regulation

02.
Financials

  • Minimum annual revenue of 2M+

  • Recurring or repeat revenue stream

  • Low customer concentration (no one customer drives 10%+ revenue)

  • Stable and consistent cash flows

03.
Business

  • Founder-owned

  • B2B, ideally product-based business

  • Exiting owner seeking liquidity event for retirement and succession planning

  • Committed middle managers

What's in a Name

Why Saddletree?

A saddletree is the base on which the rest of the saddle is built. The saddletree determines the fit of the saddle on the horse's back and the size of the rider's seat.The materials for a saddletree are chosen for stability and longevity while maintaining flexibility.These are the traits we bring to our search for a great business. We seek to find a business where our skills can bring even greater strength, stability, and longevity to a business. Most importantly, we are looking for a strong mutual fit between ourselves, the founder, and the business - this fit is the precursor to going far and going fast.Fun fact: Katherine is an avid equestrian, which also led us to this name. "Saddletree" is also a partial anagram of our last names.

Get in touch.

If you care what happens next for your company, your employees, your customers, and your family, we invite you to reach out.
We’d love to talk with you about what’s next.

© 2024 | Saddletree Partners