Justin Wright helps run accounting and CFO advisory services at Milestone Advisors. Two years ago the partners were spread thin, each of them wearing several hats, serving clients during the day and running the back office around it. Growth was steady, and steady was not what they wanted. “We knew that if we really wanted to take that next step like we all wanted, we would need some more fuel on the fire.”
What They Were Weighing
Outside capital was one path. Merging with another firm was another. Continuing to grow slowly and accept the pace was the third. Justin carried a specific reservation into all of it, because he has worked deals from both sides. “In talking with those owners, one of the biggest things that I always heard was the culture is so different with private equity, and some of the changes that they want to come in and implement from day one.”
Why They Waited
Milestone shared partners with Hartle & Rees, which Baysora approached first. The original idea was to go in together, and the Milestone partners were not ready. So the tax firm went first and Milestone watched for a year. What Justin watched most closely was the part he personally owned. He was running HR, payroll, and onboarding, which meant every hire landed on his desk and Ryan’s. Baysora took that load off the tax firm within months.
Asked what he would change, Justin does not hedge: there was really no reason to wait that additional year.
Results Achieved
Since joining, the firm has:
- Compressed its goals from a 5 to 15 year horizon to 3 to 10
- Moved HR, payroll, and employee onboarding off a partner’s desk
- Added clients month over month, with recruiting support behind the growth
- Shown employees that the firm they joined still runs the way it did
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