Marissa "The Engineer" Manor
Marissa earned the nickname "The Engineer" after engineering the sale of 47 trades businesses for a combined $850M — including three $100M+ exits. When others talked theory, Marissa built systematic growth machines that turned family trades into empire exits. She now serves as CEO of Revark's AI Cabinet, orchestrating every growth strategy from bootstrap to premium sale.
From Brisbane Cabinet Shop to $850M in Exits
Brisbane kid who grew up in her family's struggling cabinet making shop, watching her parents work 80-hour weeks for barely minimum wage. Studied finance and business at UQ to figure out why smart, hardworking tradies stayed poor while developers got rich.
Turned the family business from $400K revenue to a $42M exit in 8 years by systematising everything. That success led to coaching other trades businesses, eventually engineering Australia's largest plumbing rollup — 67 businesses consolidated into a $180M exit to private equity.
Took over family books, discovered they were losing money on 60% of jobs
Implemented first job costing system — profits jumped 300% in one year
Sold family cabinet business for $42M to national building supplies company
Engineered 67-business plumbing rollup, $180M exit to private equity
Rescued Ferguson Advisory from 2-month runway to profitable in 90 days
Built recurring revenue advisory model to 450 clients, 82% EBITDA margin
Proven Impact
Family Business Exit
Grew the family cabinet making business from $400K to $42M exit in 8 years through systematic job costing and operational excellence.
Largest Plumbing Rollup
Engineered Australia's largest plumbing rollup — 67 businesses consolidated and sold to private equity.
Crisis Turnaround
Rescued Ferguson Advisory from 2-month runway to profitable operation in 90 days through radical cost management and utilisation optimisation.
Where Marissa Excels
From bootstrap to empire exit — systematic growth architecture for every stage of business evolution.
Bootstrap to Scale
The $0 to $500K Playbook — from first 10 jobs to first hire to systematic operation. Every stage has a framework.
Operational Systemisation
The Systemisation Stack — document every task, train anyone to do it, ensure consistent outcomes, replicate across sites.
Exit Preparation
Strategic Buyer Readiness Score — revenue growth rate, EBITDA margins, customer concentration, and management depth.
Crisis Turnaround
Week 1: Stop the bleeding. Week 2-4: Stabilise operations. Month 2-3: Build momentum. Month 4-6: Scale the recovery.
Revenue Model Design
Entry level coaching → Core tier advisory → Premium implementation. Recurring revenue mechanics that compound.
C-Suite Orchestration
Knowing when to hire vs consult vs outsource. Building complementary teams and clear accountability structures.
The Engineer's Growth Stack
Systematise, Scale, and Sell — battle-tested frameworks from 47 successful exits.
The TRIGGR Trades Trinity
Operational Excellence × Financial Discipline × Market Position. Score each 1-10, multiply for growth coefficient. Below 125 = fix fundamentals.
Core diagnostic for any business stageMayer's Margin Matrix
Job Complexity vs Gross Margin. Four quadrants: Bread & Butter (maintain), Premium Work (expand), Time Wasters (eliminate), Loss Leaders (strategic only).
Job portfolio optimisationThe Systemisation Stack
Process Layer → Training Layer → Quality Layer → Scale Layer. KPI: Reduce owner involvement by 20% quarterly tracking systematic progress.
Founder dependency eliminationStrategic Buyer Readiness
Revenue growth + EBITDA margins + Customer concentration + Management depth + Systems maturity. 12+ pts = ready, 9-11 = optimise, <9=keep building.
Exit timing decisionWhen to Deploy The Engineer
Stuck at $3M Plateau
Owner still on tools daily, can't break through revenue ceiling.
"At $3M, you can't be the best tradie AND the CEO. Your business is worth nothing if it needs you on site. Focus on winning $5M worth of work while a foreman manages site."
Pricing Fear
Scared to raise prices, losing jobs to cheaper competitors.
"Perfect — let them have the low-margin jobs. I turned our family business around by firing the bottom 30% of customers and raising prices 40%. Cheaper customers are the biggest headaches."
Cash Flow Crisis
Growing but constantly chasing cash, can't pay suppliers.
"Classic growth trap. Implement progress claims on everything over $5K, cut payment terms to 7 days, and stop funding builders' cash flow. Your money is tied up in un-invoiced work."
Exit Positioning
Wants to sell but hasn't prepared for a high-multiple exit.
"Buyers don't buy your charisma; they buy your EBITDA and management depth. Let's build a 12-month exit plan to systematise everything and promote a GM to run daily operations."
Why The Engineer is Beyond Human
47 exits, 200+ coached businesses, every pattern encoded and accessible instantly.
Pattern Recognition
Every failure mode, every success path from 200+ businesses encoded. Marissa spots the $3M plateau trap before you hit it.
Framework Integration
Ansoff Matrix, Porter's Five Forces, BCG Growth-Share, and DCF Valuation — simultaneously applied to your specific situation.
Stage-Appropriate Advice
Solo operator gets bootstrap frameworks. $10M business gets rollup strategy. Exit-ready gets buyer positioning.
"Build it, systematise it, scale it — everything else is noise."
— Marissa "The Engineer" ManorCEO of the AI Cabinet
"I'm world-class at growth strategy and exits, but I know exactly where I need specialists. The best CEOs are conductors, not soloists."
Marissa orchestrates the full C-suite — identifying capability gaps and bringing in specialist operators like Lorraine for marketing, James for sales, or Mike for operational scaling.
Orchestration Philosophy
Hire for capability gaps, not comfort.
Clear swim lanes — overlap creates politics, gaps create failure.
KPIs must be binary — they were met or they weren't.
Specialisation Areas
Metrics That Matter
Industry Expertise
Deploy The Engineer
Whether you're a solo operator scared to hire, a $3M business stuck at plateau, or a $15M operation ready to sell — Marissa's job is to diagnose exactly where you're stuck and build the systematic path forward.
Numbers first, stories second. Start your systematic advantage today.