Strategic advisory for founders and CEOs of B2B software and SaaS companies.

We work with founders and leadership teams at the moments where the decisions get consequential—on capital, positioning, operations, and what comes next.

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Approach

The work behind the work.

Most founders at a crossroads don’t need another opinion. They need someone who understands how the other side of the table thinks, can build structure around a decision, and gets in the weeds while you stay focused on leading.

Every engagement is informed by years spent on the investor side—evaluating deals, sitting in board meetings, and seeing firsthand what separates companies that raise and scale from those that don’t. We bring that lens to every conversation.

The work is hands-on, integrated, and built around what your company actually needs at that moment—not a packaged service.

Focus Areas

Where we typically engage.

Fundraising Strategy

Raise readiness, investor materials, pipeline strategy, and data room preparation—built around how investment decisions actually get made, not how founders assume they do.

Operational Alpha

Operational clarity before structural problems become leadership problems. Organizational design, process development, and the blocking and tackling of getting a company ready for its next phase.

Growth Strategy

Positioning and narrative for customers, investors, and strategic partners. Financial modeling to frame scenarios and inform decisions on structure and dilution. Strategic planning with the operational specificity to actually execute against.

Transaction Advisory

Exit preparation before inbound interest becomes a live process. Deal process support through diligence, coordinated with counsel. Waterfall and cap table analysis so founders know what a deal means before they sign.

How We Work

Engagements built for the real work.

Engagements typically start as a defined project or sprint—scoped tightly, integrated quickly, and producing real work from day one. Most clients move into an ongoing advisory relationship that maintains momentum and ensures continuity across priorities.

We’re selective about the engagements we take on, and happy to start with a single project before expanding the scope.

Team

Founded on experience across the table.

BlackOak Partners was founded by Liam Reilly—former investment principal and general counsel at a multi-fund venture firm with over $100M in AUM deployed. He led more than 20 investments, sat in the board meetings, and worked directly with founders and CEOs across 50+ portfolio companies.

That background—on both sides of the investor-founder relationship—shapes everything about how we work. We know what investors are actually looking for, what founders are navigating in real time, and how to close the gap between the two.

Liam Reilly

Founding Partner

Previously: investment principal and general counsel at a multi-fund VC. Now: the person in your corner.

Contact

Let’s talk.

We work with a limited number of clients at a time. If you’re working through something where outside perspective could help—a raise, a strategic decision, or an operational challenge—we’d welcome the conversation.

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