About Cape Fear Advisors, LLC
Founded on the Cape Fear coast of North Carolina, today based in Boston — Cape Fear Advisors has spent four decades building the kind of reputation that only comes from doing exactly what you say you will.
Our Philosophy
There are a lot of consulting options available to companies. Our clients can choose among a large number of competent, capable, and sometimes larger alternatives.
What they can't always find elsewhere: a senior advisor with genuine operating experience — who has run companies, closed transactions, and rebuilt revenue — working personally on their account, every engagement. High client retention and referrals over four decades speak for themselves.
We pair that depth of experience with the capabilities of today. AI tools are now part of how we work — accelerating competitive research, sharpening financial models, and surfacing market intelligence faster than traditional methods allow. Our clients get the benefit of seasoned judgment and modern execution.
Our Boston base puts us at the center of the Northeast corridor — with direct access to New York, Providence, Hartford, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. We work with clients throughout the United States.
"In forty years, every client received 100% effort — and mostly over-delivered results. That record is our most important asset."
Greg Collins, Founder
We excel at helping companies tackle their strategic and business development priorities. Because we focus on specific markets and types of situations, we likely bring direct background to every table.
We want every engagement and every client interaction to build on our reputation. Our future depends on current clients' satisfaction and their referrals.
With all of our clients, we develop a strong sense of duty and purpose to their objectives. We value the deep, trusting relationships we develop.
Outside advisors need to prove their worth every month. We place our experience, reputation, and trust on the line with every engagement — and we deliver.
We are sensitive to time and resource constraints. Our engagements are structured to deliver clear value at every stage — with an approach that flexes to match your requirements.
We use AI tools as a genuine force multiplier — running competitive landscapes in hours instead of weeks, stress-testing financial models against live market data, and synthesizing due diligence materials that used to take months. The work gets sharper and faster. The judgment behind it remains ours.
Where We Focus
Practice 01
With direct experience defining, building, and extending software and technology-enabled services companies throughout their lifecycle, we bring real operating expertise to every strategic planning and M&A engagement. Companies from start-up to $2B in revenue have relied on our guidance.
Practice 02
Our experience in automotive retail technology dates to the early 1990s. Our principals developed major new markets for the industry's leading players — including e-commerce, F&I technology, and CRM solutions. Companies continue to rely on us for strategic planning, transactions, and growth.
Practice 03
We bring deep hands-on experience scaling SaaS and data-driven businesses — from cloud infrastructure and distributed databases to cross-channel attribution and AI-native marketing technology. We've grown enterprise revenue, achieved industry accreditation, and led transactions across this space.
About Greg Collins
Greg Collins brings more than 40 years of professional experience spanning strategic consulting, investment banking, CEO leadership, and general management. He has participated in M&A and investment transactions exceeding $2.4 billion in aggregate value — more than 70 completed transactions across buy-side M&A, sell-side advisory, and corporate investing roles — in industries from enterprise software and automotive retail technology to healthcare, financial services, and advertising attribution.
Greg personally manages all projects and programs for key clients, ensuring senior-level attention and accountability on every engagement. His focus is on accelerated growth and value creation — bringing operating experience and creative thinking to finding growth opportunities in both emerging and mature markets.
Leads all client engagements personally, providing strategic planning, growth acceleration, and M&A advisory to privately held software and services businesses. More than 70 completed transactions totaling over $2.4 billion in aggregate value — across buy-side M&A, sell-side advisory, and corporate investing roles.
Leads sales, marketing, services, and product development for C3 Metrics, the independent marketing attribution platform. Sold and delivered full omni-channel measurement programs to major advertisers across automotive, financial services, healthcare, and D2C. Built and maintained the enterprise-grade infrastructure that attributes over 2 billion advertising events monthly. Achieved MRC Accreditation for Viewability and positioned C3 as the first company to pursue MRC attribution accreditation.
PE-backed provider of outsourced marketing services and software. Sold major enterprise accounts representing $5 million or more in annual purchasing. Positioned the company in new industry segments — including automotive — that expanded its addressable market and contributed to the company's eventual exit and value realization for investors.
Doubled the customer base and revenue of this transformative NoSQL database provider. Sold key systems to the Weather Channel, the UK National Health System, Yahoo! Japan, State Farm, and other Fortune 100 companies. Served on the Board of Directors.
Served on the Management Committee and ran a $200 million revenue portfolio during a period when the company grew from $600 million to $2 billion in revenues. Led the divestiture of two divisions totaling $400 million. Pioneered the concept of automotive e-commerce — originating the company's early digital capabilities across dealer websites, lead generation platforms, and web-based dealership applications. Also guided the company's strategic planning, corporate development, and its eventual split into two independent firms.
Provided strategy development and execution services to firms in software, healthcare, retail, and other industries. Led major corporate transactions, including the $100M sale of Western Ohio Health Care Corporation to United Healthcare.
Strategy development and execution focused on growth-oriented companies. The foundation of a career built around helping companies grow.
Greg has served on more than 15 boards of directors throughout his career, including Basho Technologies, NetworkCar LLC, ChoiceParts LLC, Reynolds Australia PLC, CVR, and eFin LLC, as well as several community non-profit organizations. He served as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee for Cape Fear Academy.
M.B.A. — Darden School of Business, University of Virginia · B.A., Economics — Williams College
Whether you're a CEO planning your next growth phase or an investor looking for due diligence support, we welcome the conversation.
