# Resource Group case study · Horizon Canonical: https://withhorizon.co/case-study/resource-group [← All results](/results) Retail agency # How Resource Group grew profit 68%. One of Canada's leading national retail agencies wanted an outside look at where it stood. What the team saw changed what they built next. "We think bigger now, thanks to Horizon."Jeremy Lenk, CEO, Resource Group 4 movesFrom their first 90-day value sprint +68%Increase in profit (EBITDA), one year after 2xFaster than planned RecordSales year, the best in their history StatusDraft for review CompanyResource Group Founded1994, by Claus Lenk IndustryRetail agency EngagementValue Baseline, 2025 Website[resourcegrp.com ↗](https://resourcegrp.com) Share MHWritten byMatt HarrisonCo-founder, Horizon In 1994, Claus Lenk started Resource Group as a one-person sales agency with a briefcase full of samples. More than three decades later, it builds brands at every major retailer in Canada. When CEO Jeremy Lenk and CRO Brian Stanojevic came to us, they weren't looking to sell. They wanted to know what the business was really worth, and what would make it worth more. Their Value Baseline found four moves, ranked by what each one was worth. Within one full year of acting on them, profit was up 68%, clearing the two-year profit target twelve months early. Their own forecast expected a dip while they invested. It never came. Profit, indexed up 68%. The two-year target, hit in year one. Two-year target from the Value Baseline Target · 149 100 100 168 One year beforeAt the Value BaselineFirst full year after , shown as an index so no dollar figures are disclosed. ## Why selling was never the plan No exit was on the calendar. The question was whether what Claus started, and the team built on, would hold up under a buyer's scrutiny, and how much upside was in the business to capture now. The answer we gave them: Resource Group was a real, saleable business with a lot of value still on the table, and most of it was within their control. Our recommendation: hold, and build. ## Where the value was hiding The Value Baseline looks at a business the way an acquirer does: normalized financials, every value driver scored, and conversations with M&A advisors and investors active in the space, held without naming the company. Four opportunities stood out. 01More demand than capacity.40+ brands in conversation and several ready to sign. The growth was already there. The job was making room for it. 02A portfolio ready to widen.Partnerships measured in decades gave Resource Group a rare, stable base. Every new brand added on top makes the whole business worth more. 03A growth engine ready to scale.Relationships built over decades filled the pipeline. Giving new business a dedicated owner would let it grow faster than the leadership team’s time allows. 04Profit with room to run.Margins had headroom against comparable agencies, and better data would give the team more time to sell. Jeremy and Brian knew their business better than anyone. What changed was seeing each opportunity ranked, with a value on it, through a buyer's eyes. Where they startedGet the same Value Baseline they didThe health check that gave Jeremy and Brian their four moves, backed by the [10x Guarantee](/guarantee).[Start your Value Baseline →](/value-baseline) What you getYour numbers, rebuilt the way a buyer wouldEvery value driver scored against the bestWhat a buyer would pay today, and whyThe moves that matter most, in order ## A short list, in order The report ended with their first 90-day value sprint, not a wish list. The four moves: 1. 1**Make diversification a number.** Set a clear target for how the portfolio should be balanced, and track it on the company scorecard every month. 2. 2**Free leadership to focus on growth.** Move day-to-day work off the leadership team’s plate, and give new business a dedicated owner. 3. 3**Build capacity before adding cost.** Understand where the team’s time really goes, and invest in the data behind every brand first. 4. 4**Write down the vision.** So every investment decision has a clear filter. ## What they changed ### They hired for where they were going > "For the first time ever, we hired for growth. We invested for where we wanted to go, instead of reacting when we had to." Jeremy Lenk, CEO ### They took new business off one person's plate > "We have a massive new business funnel. I have someone on my team who now drives that with me." Jeremy Lenk, CEO ### They widened the portfolio on purpose Diversification moved from intention to a number on the scorecard. With capacity to take on the brands that had been waiting, new launches are widening the portfolio, and every launch makes the business stronger and more balanced. ## The dip that never came Investing ahead of growth usually costs something up front. Jeremy and Brian had planned for it. > "Our forecast had us taking reduced earnings in year one, because of what we were investing. The result was the opposite." Jeremy Lenk, CEO ## Where Resource Group is now Not for sale. Building. The three-year goal the team wrote down before we met is now this year's plan. > "Our mentality has changed quite dramatically. Brian and I now have a fairly large aim of where we want to go." Jeremy Lenk, CEO What's next is more of the same: a team that finds, signs and launches new brands on its own, and a portfolio that keeps getting wider. Building that now, with time on their side, is the point. What Resource Group got from seeing it like a buyer**A straight answer, early.** What a buyer would pay and why, with time to act on it.**A short list, in order.** Four moves, ranked, with a value on each one.**A bigger aim.** A team that plans for where it’s going, not where it’s been.**Control.** Nothing listed, nobody told. ## Common questions about this case study One Value Baseline: their numbers restated the way a buyer would rebuild them, every value driver scored, a straight answer on what the business was worth, and their first 90-day value sprint: four moves, in order. Normalized EBITDA in the first full year after the Value Baseline, compared with the year of the report. It cleared the two-year target in year one, despite a forecast that expected earnings to dip while they invested. No. They wanted to know what it was worth and how to make it worth more. Our recommendation was to hold and build, and they are. No. We spoke with M&A advisors and investors active in the space without naming the company. Nothing was listed and nobody was told. Results vary. This is one business, and every company starts from a different place. About Resource Group Since 1994, Resource Group has been building brands at Canadian retail. From Toronto, its national team works with every major retailer in the country, in stores and online, with one mission: helping amazing products get into the hands of consumers worldwide. Led by CEO Jeremy Lenk and CRO Brian Stanojevic. A note on results Results vary. This case study describes one business, and past results don't guarantee future results for yours. Shared with permission from Resource Group. Dollar figures are shown as percentages or an index. ## What could a clear plan do for your business? 30 minutes with a Horizon Partner. See your business the way a buyer would, and the one move that would grow its value, your profit and your time the most. [Book a discovery call →](/discovery-call) [The 10x GuaranteeWe find $200,000 in value, or your money back.How the guarantee works →](/guarantee) Glossary EBITDAEarnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortizationEBITDA measures operating profitability: what the business earns from its operations, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. It is not the same as the cash the business generates.**Why it matters:** It is the starting point for almost every private company valuation.[See the full glossary →](/glossary#ebitda) Glossary Normalized EBITDAAlso called adjusted EBITDAEBITDA after add-backs and one-time items are removed. It is the profit number most buyers use to value a private company.**Why it matters:** This is usually the number your multiple gets applied to, so small changes here move your price a lot.[See the full glossary →](/glossary#adjusted-ebitda)