SME² Overview

SME² provides financial consulting and investment banking services to small businesses looking to write their next chapter.  Though owners and managers of small businesses are often experts in their field, additional financial expertise can help establish a company’s financial planning and financial control capabilities or spearhead its capital markets initiatives.  A critical tool to doing any of these effectively is a Custom Financial Model (CFM), which uses a company’s unique structure, circumstance, and prospects to detail expected results.  

SME² builds a Custom Financial Model for every client and, unlike most any other financial services provider, sends them a working copy and shows them how to use it.  If a client is comfortable moving forward independently, it can use the Custom Financial Model without any more collaboration with SME².  Otherwise, SME² can provide continued support either as the client’s part-time CFO (a “Fractional CFO”) or investment bank. 

About Drew Blacker

  • 5+ years (150+ companies) of financial modeling for capital markets

  • Serviced manufacturing, healthcare, technology, and aerospace sectors among others

  • KPI analysis and translation into financial modeling for Fortune 500 company

Drew Blacker is the Managing Member of SME². Through a hands-on process, he leverages a broad set of experiences to understand your business and your goals. He worked for the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce, followed by paralegal work on multi-billion dollar corporate matters for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

Mr. Blacker then worked for Madison Street Capital, a small and medium-sized enterprise investment bank. While there, he managed the firm’s client-facing analysis group, leading over 150 business owners through a due diligence process to maximize their effectiveness in capital markets, as well as leading M&A and capital market initiatives. Mr. Blacker then modeled multi-billion dollar budgets across several operational groups at United Airlines before starting SME².

Degrees

  • MBA from Northwestern University’s
    Kellogg School of Management

  • MPP from University of Chicago’s
    Harris School of Public Policy

  • BA in Economics from Amherst College

FINRA Certificates

  • Series 63 Uniform Securities Agent

  • Series 79 Investment Banking Representative