The Cordis MRI is the diagnostic engagement Cordis uses with its own clients before any advisory or transaction work. It is available to Foundry readers as a standalone engagement.
What it is
A four-week engagement, conducted by Cordis Institute staff and Cordis Group senior personnel, that applies the buyer-side framework to your specific business. The output is a written report covering:
- Score on the five risk axes (customer concentration, key-person dependency, documentation quality, recurring revenue mix, decision-rights legibility), with documented evidence for each score
- A buyer-universe map: which buyers in this market are likely to engage at current readiness, which buyers tend to engage one to three years from now, and which buyers tend to engage if no work is done
- A characterization of the discount stack: which discounts buyers in this market are most likely to apply at current readiness, and what operational work would address each discount
- A 24-month operational sequence: the work, by quarter, in the order the empirical record supports
Who runs it
A Cordis Institute senior researcher leads the diagnostic. A Cordis Group senior partner reviews the buyer-universe and pricing analysis. The engagement is signed off by the Cordis principal accountable to the founder. References are available on request.
What it costs
Pricing is by engagement, indicatively scaled to the size of the business. The intake conversation determines the scope, the timeline, and the fee. We do not list a fixed price because no two MRIs are identically scoped; the intake establishes the right scope before the engagement begins.
What it is not
The MRI is not a business valuation. It is not an opinion of value, an appraisal, or a fair-market-value determination. Cordis does not perform business valuations. The MRI characterizes how buyers in this market are likely to apply the discount stack at current readiness, and names the operational work that addresses each discount. Founders seeking a formal valuation should engage a certified business appraiser.
The MRI is also not a sale process. It is not an LOI solicitation. It is not a Cordis Group sales call. It is a diagnostic engagement. Some founders who take an MRI eventually engage Cordis Group for a transition; some do not. The MRI is structured to be useful in either case.
Intake
The intake form on this page collects the basic facts (revenue range, EBITDA range, sector, exit horizon, how you heard about us). A Cordis principal will respond within 48 hours with a scoping conversation and an indicative timeline.