We work with founder-led businesses to build and run the systems behind finance and operations — so leaders can focus on what only they can do.
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Breakdowns don't stay isolated — they spread across the business.
The business is growing. Revenue is there. But clarity didn't keep up.
Financials don't tell the full story. Operations rely on tribal knowledge. The systems that got you here weren't built for what's next.
It's not a people problem.
It's a systems problem.
Inside finance and operations — where the business actually runs.
Most businesses don't have a systems problem because they ignored it. They have one because they grew faster than their infrastructure could keep up.
The books were kept. The work got done. But over time, financials stopped telling the full story. Operations ran on memory. The data became unreliable.
We focus on two areas where that shows up most — how the business tracks performance and how it executes day to day.
Get those right, and everything else becomes easier to manage.
Clean books, reliable reporting, and financial structure you can trust.
Processes and workflows that reduce friction and improve consistency.
Systems and data that are structured and built to hold up under scale.
Every system is made up of three elements — and when they're aligned, the business runs with clarity and efficiency. When they're not, complexity compounds.
Who or what does the work.
What happens before and after each step.
The tools used to execute.
We work with founder-led businesses across all industries and stages.
Founders operate in constant uncertainty. The role demands conviction, resilience, and the ability to make decisions with incomplete information.
The highest-value work for a founder is not system design or operations — it's vision, relationships, and decision-making.
That's where we come in.
FCP owns and improves the systems that run the business — so founders can stay focused on what they do best.
From defined projects to ongoing execution inside the business.
Most engagements begin with your most pressing need. A controller to close the books. A system to implement. An operational process to fix. We scope it, do the work, and deliver.
But something usually happens along the way. Founders see the full picture — how financials connect to operations, how operations depend on systems, how systems shape the data. And they want that continuity to continue.
In steady state, we operate as a doing partner — not a managing one. We close the books, run the systems, and execute the processes. We don't manage your people. Depending on the engagement, we work directly with the founder, quietly in the background, or somewhere in between.
Defined scope. Clear deliverable.
Embedded execution inside your business where continuity matters.
Technology — whether classical software or AI — is only one part of the equation. The people running it and the processes surrounding it matter just as much. Get those three things aligned, and technology becomes a multiplier. Without that foundation, new tools create new complexity.
FCP helps you find the right blend — modern where it makes sense, proven where it doesn't, and always built around how your business actually runs.
Founded by operators. Not advisors.
Fountain City Partners (FCP) was founded by Ben Schultz and Jared Schnefke — entrepreneurs and operators with decades of experience building systems inside growing businesses.
Before FCP, the team came together inside a fast-growing company Ben founded. As the business scaled, they built the systems and operations that took it from entrepreneurial chaos to a structured, high-performing organization. That business was acquired by a publicly traded company in 2021.
They've worked in both top-tier consulting environments and real operating roles — and understand the difference between designing systems and actually running them.
Today, they bring that experience directly into the businesses they work with — building and operating the systems those businesses depend on.
Ben is an entrepreneur who thinks in systems. He has founded and led multiple businesses — and along the way developed a deep conviction that the right systems are what separate companies that compound from those that plateau. He brings that lens directly to FCP's clients.
Jared brings deep expertise in strategy, operations, and finance to every engagement. He is at his best serving as a systems expert and operator — helping purpose-driven businesses solve hard operational problems and unlock their potential.
Let's start with a conversation.
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