+ Case Studies / Growth Without Selling Out
The owner kept the art. We fixed the business around it.
Every house below stayed owner controlled. No rebrands, no forced expansion, no franchising. What changed was the back office, the lease and the runway.
Note | Figures shown are illustrative composites drawn from operator diligence while our first closes complete. Named results will replace them as houses go on the record.
01 | Barber Shop | Atlanta, GA
Chair Six
Six chairs, eleven years, and a lease nobody had read since 2019.
100% creative control. Owner retains 82% equity.
The Problem
A full book and a shop that felt like a second job. Booth rent was undercollected, the lease carried eleven months of common area overcharges, and the owner did payroll by hand on Sundays.
What the House Did
- +Audited the lease and recovered the overcharges as rent credit
- +Moved booth rent and tips onto one system with automatic collection
- +Hired a shop manager so the owner could stay on the floor
- +Underwrote a second location and then deliberately delayed it a year
Monthly revenue
$68k
from $41k
Owner hours on admin
2 / week
from 14 / week
Chairs filled
6 of 6
from 4 of 6
“I did not want out. I wanted the paperwork to stop eating my Sundays. They fixed the paperwork and left the shop alone.”
02 | Tattoo Shop | Brooklyn, NY
Black Vellum
A waitlist eight months long and no way to turn it into money.
Full artistic control. Owners retain 79% equity.
The Problem
Nine artists, a legendary reputation, and a deposit system running on direct messages. Cancellations went unfilled and the shop lost roughly one full chair of revenue every week.
What the House Did
- +Built a deposit and booking system the artists actually agreed to use
- +Turned the dead back room into a private guest artist suite
- +Launched a flash day program with the House covering fixed costs
- +Set up merchandise and print sales as a second revenue line
Annual revenue
$1.1m
from $690k
Unfilled appointment slots
4%
from 23%
Artists on staff
12
from 9
“Nobody asked us to change our style, our pricing or who we tattoo. They asked why we were losing a chair a week and then fixed it.”
03 | Art Gallery | Glasgow, UK
Gallery Nine Six
A respected program, a bad street, and a landlord raising rent 40%.
Curation untouched. Director retains 85% equity.
The Problem
Strong artist roster, serious critical attention, almost no foot traffic. The rent increase would have closed the room within two quarters.
What the House Did
- +Funded the relocation to a corner unit with street windows
- +Negotiated a seven year lease with a rent free build out period
- +Added a print editions line so the gallery earns between shows
- +Kept the curatorial program entirely with the founding director
Monthly foot traffic
1,940
from 310
Works sold per show
17
from 4
Months of runway
19
from 2
“They bought us a street corner and a seven year lease and then never once asked to see the checklist for a show.”
04 | Indie Publisher | Mexico City, MX
Folklore Press
Three good books a year and a distribution problem that ate the margin.
Editorial independence. Publisher retains 80% equity.
The Problem
Excellent editorial taste, no warehouse, no distribution contract, and print runs priced as if each title were a one off.
What the House Did
- +Consolidated printing across titles to cut unit cost
- +Signed a distribution agreement covering two continents
- +Built a direct to reader subscription for the annual
- +Paid advances so writers could stop freelancing mid book
Titles per year
8
from 3
Cost per unit
$3.10
from $7.40
Direct subscribers
2,600
from 0
“The list is still mine. What changed is that a book now pays for the next book instead of the next loan.”
Your shop could be the next entry.
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