The firm behind the work.
2nd St Strategy is a boutique commercial due diligence and growth strategy firm built for middle-market private equity. Principal-led, primary-research-first, AI-integrated.
Built for the way PE actually works.
- Boutique firm — no overhead, no politics
- Every engagement principal-led by James Agres
- 15+ years of top-tier strategy and M&A diligence
- 200+ buy-side and sell-side processes
- $6B+ in combined enterprise value evaluated
- Six sectors, deep pattern recognition
- Chicago, IL — serving PE sponsors nationally
15+
Years of experience
180+
PE processes supported
Buy-side and sell-side
3,000+
Expert interviews conducted
Customers, competitors, experts
80+
B2B and B2C surveys executed
15
AI analytics tools developed
Trusted by leading private investors and their portfolio companies
Four principles.
Primary research is the foundation.
Secondary data describes what happened. Customers tell you why — and what's next. Every engagement starts with talking to the market.
AI accelerates. It doesn't replace.
Our custom tools help synthesize faster and pattern-match across engagements. But the commercial judgment still requires experience.
Principals run the work.
No hand-offs to analysts you've never met. The person you hire is the person who does the work.
Honest over comfortable.
We'll challenge a thesis if the evidence points elsewhere. The value is in the rigor — not in confirming what you already believe.
Ready to talk?
Active deal process, portfolio question, or just want to connect — we respond within 24 hours.
Get in touch