DEXImagingThe proposal
A private working preview · prepared for DEX leadership

The buy-side firm DEX wants.And the operating layer that comes with it.

DEX is building a real buy-side acquisition motion in IT and managed services. We can run that motion end to end: sourcing, diligence, and outreach, continuously. The larger opportunity is the one DEX's leadership has already started exploring with AI, an operating layer the whole organization can use, so the leverage scales past a handful of people. Less time spent moving between tools. More time on the decisions that move the business.

This isn't a slide deck. Each section below is a working mock-up of the capability itself, built to be walked through live or shared as-is.

powered by Helix · Pierce Ridge Technologiesnoindex · not for distribution outside DEX and its advisors
01Buy-side M&A engine

The deal firm, running every week, not per engagement.

Today

A broker brings a lead, someone senior works it, an LOI gets signed, then an outside firm is engaged for quality-of-earnings. It's slow, relationship-gated, and it doesn't keep pace with how fast DEX wants to grow by acquisition.

With Helix

Helix runs sourcing continuously inside your buy-box, enriches each target, drafts the diligence pages a QoE firm would build, and runs the outreach cadence under PRC's identity, so the pipeline is full before anyone picks up the phone.

HHelix · Deal SourcingModeled
Deal lead asks

IT / managed services50-mi radius · Cleveland, OH$3–15M revenueOwner-operatedRecurring contract base
Territory · 50-mi radius
Cleveland, OH
awaiting querystylized, not a live map
Target · enriched by Helix
Westlake, OH · candidate #3 of 9
··
Owner
Founder · 19 yrs
Est. revenue
$8–10M
Headcount
~38
Recurring %
~71%
Stack
ConnectWise / Datto
Buy-box fit
86 / 100

Step 1 / 6·Define the box: describe the target profile in plain language.

Modeled. Illustrative of how this would run on DEX's systems, not live DEX data.
02AI enablement, scaled

Move the leverage off two people's heads.

Today

Patrick and Steve are spending real hours hand-training Claude, re-prompting, reformatting, coaxing. Generously, that's an hour a day each: roughly $100K–$195K/yr of senior time, loaded. And when it works, the know-how lives in two heads.

With Helix

Give Helix a goal and the tools, and it runs to a finished deliverable, then leaves behind a reusable workflow and an adoption dashboard. The output ships and the capability becomes the organization's, not a side project two executives carry.

HAI enablement · the same task, two waysModeled
The ask ·
Today · chat, by hand+2 min and counting
Draft the Q3 managed-services go-to-market plan.
Here's a first draft of the plan… (outline + rough sections)
With Helix · one goal, run to doneworking
goal · Deliver the finished Q3 plan, use every tool you have; don't come back with questions.
Per exec, per day
0 hr
~ today, hand-running AI
Two senior leaders
0 hrs/yr
combined, at an hour a day
Loaded-cost value
$0K
recovered, and the playbook is the org's

Step 1 / 5·Same request, both sides: "Draft the Q3 managed-services go-to-market plan."

Modeled. The time and cost figures use the loaded-cost method from the PRT enablement brief (comp × 1.30 ÷ 2,080 hrs).
03Operating cockpit

Ask Oscar. One source of truth. Zero clicks.

Today

Whether you're hitting the four-hour service promise, what the toner plant has on hand, where the DEXTEK pipeline stands, what customers are saying. Each lives in a different system, or in a different person's head. To get the picture you hunt across tools or interrupt someone who has the login.

With Helix

Ask in plain language, between meetings or from the car, and Oscar pulls from dispatch, the ERP, the DEXTEK PSA, and the review feeds at once and assembles the answer. Follow up, and the work actually happens: dispatch rebalances, the renewals get routed, the production order is flagged. Operators build their own daily board; leaders just ask.

HOscar · DEX operating cockpitModeled

you ·

Step 1 / 5·A leader just asks, out loud, between meetings or from the car.

Modeled. Illustrative of how this would run on DEX's systems, not live DEX data.
04Post-acquisition system

Every integration runs the same playbook.

Today

The acquired business gets onboarded ad hoc: HR folders handed out on day one, names mispronounced, 'we'll be open seven days eventually.' The wheels wobble because there's no repeatable integration motion, just goodwill and improvisation.

With Helix

Each closed deal lands on a runbook: people & comms, systems & data, customer continuity, 30/60/90 milestones, every task owned, status visible, integration risk draining away as the checklist completes. Acquisition #4, #5, #6 inherit it automatically.

HHelix · Acquisition Integration RunbookModeled
A3
New acquisition · closed
Runbook initializing
People & comms
  • Name pronunciations + org chart confirmed
  • Welcome sequence scheduled (week 1–4, not day 1)
  • Benefits & payroll mapped, no surprises
  • Manager 1:1s booked with every employee
Systems & data
  • Email & identity cutover plan
  • CRM + service history migrated
  • Ticketing / dispatch consolidated
  • Toner & parts inventory into DEX ERP
Customer continuity
  • Top-50 accounts get a named contact
  • "Nothing changes for you" notice sent
  • Open tickets reassigned, none dropped
  • Contract renewals calendared
30 / 60 / 90
  • Day 30, integration review
  • Day 60, cross-sell DEXTEK / managed IT
  • Day 90, synergy check vs. model
Integration risk
Ad-hoc onboarding
Mixed messaging
Systems left siloed
Customers slip through
The failure mode this prevents: HR paperwork dropped on people day one, names mispronounced, half-promises about hours and locations. This is the version where the first impression lands and customers never feel the seam.
People & commsSystems & dataCustomer continuity30 / 60 / 90 milestones

Step 1 / 5·A new acquisition closes, it lands on a runbook, not in someone's inbox.

Modeled. Illustrative of how this would run on DEX's systems, not live DEX data.
The proposal · in plain terms

A twofer. Not two line items.

DEX is looking at bringing on a buy-side M&A firm. We can be that. But the same monthly retainer also stands up Helix across DEX: the operating cockpit, the enablement layer, the integration runbook. Our candid view is that within the term, much of the M&A motion runs on its own, so the lasting value is the operating layer that outlives any single deal cycle.

powered by Helix · Pierce Ridge Technologies
What you get on day one
  • Buy-side M&A engine: sourcing, diligence prep, and outreach, running every week
  • Helix operating cockpit pilot: one source of truth, ask-and-see
  • An enablement plan that turns hands-on AI work into a company-wide capability
  • An integration runbook ready for the next acquisition
What changes over the term
  • The deal pipeline runs without a buy-side firm in the loop
  • AI becomes a standard part of how teams work, not a side project
  • Every acquisition lands on the same playbook
  • DEX owns the operating layer; it doesn't leave when we do