Board-supported Bend Advisors opens in Fayetteville

Andrew Dyrhood recently launched a Fayetteville-based executive coaching, business advisory, and investment firm overseen by a board of directors with diverse leadership experience.

The Springdale native said the recent launch of Bend Advisors was “the rebirth of what coaching can look like. To my knowledge, we’re the nation’s first board-governed coaching, advising and resourcing firm.”

He began executive coaching in 2018 with one or two clients and went full-time in 2021. Initially, he wasn’t looking to work in the industry, but he discovered he had “a knack for hopping in the co-pilot seat with leaders and helping them navigate their various dilemmas,” he said. “It was just a really natural conversation to talk about every aspect of their life. And through that I just discovered that I love to help further a leader’s impact as it relates to their world and their unique wiring and the businesses they lead.”

Over the years, he identified industry issues and gaps he wanted to address. He said it was overly rigid and made for “very transactional, cold relationships with clients.” Also, he found that clients are “highly exposed to one individual and their thoughts” and that clients deserve better.

For Bend Advisors “to further a leader’s impact,” he said, “it needs to be informed by a collective or a council of board members. So that was the launch of Bend.”

The firm has four board members and one contract coach who work with Dyrhood. He may transition to a more CEO-like role as more coaches are hired, allowing him to focus more on setting the culture and supporting clients financially.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Another industry issue or gap he identified was that when working with leaders to help them grow their businesses or organizations, they needed financial resources to achieve the growth he encouraged.

“If I’d been pushing you to that point, it was really hard for me to look that leader in the eye and say, ‘Hey, I think that’s the right move,’” he said. “And then pat them on the back and say, ‘Good luck.’ Fundraising is very hard. I have a lot of experience in it from our own family background. My father-in-law is in private equity and has raised over $13.5 billion across his career. I’ve watched how challenging fundraising is, and I’ve helped raise much smaller dollars but for several of the ventures that I’ve partnered with …

“For me to be a complete executive coach who’s in the co-pilot seat with leaders and helping further their impact, I just said it’s time for us to help resource the companies that we work with when it makes sense,” he said. “It’s not a guaranteed fit, but that’s the resourcing arm of Bend Advisors.”

Examples of the support include “venture-related, early-stage capital, or it might be a succession solution plan where an exiting business owner needs their retirement. And the son or daughter are buying them out, and they need access to capital and a thought partner. Your coach is already in your corner. Your coach already knows what works and doesn’t work in your business. Let us help you in that. We will put our money where our mouth is.”

UNIQUE MODEL
The advising component of Bend Advisors relates to Dyrhood’s background in family businesses or family wealth transitions. This is separate from coaching because it’s more involved, he said.

“When a family is going through a wealth transition, there’s a lot of moving parts,” Dyrhood said. “And I say a family enterprise — that’s larger than just a family business. It usually includes alternative investments … venture capital … private equity … the family real estate portfolio … a donor-advised fund or a foundation that they’re managing … [and] multiple estates that they own.”

He said family members at the table have “different motivations and values. So on the advising front … what we say is ‘swim upstream’ and have a conversation with the family to discover what’s important to everyone and getting alignment around what the plan is with the family enterprise.”

Bend Advisors aims to help leaders and entrepreneurs “make big decisions” before working with tax, legal and financial firms to “structure it appropriately,” he said.
Something that sets Bend Advisors apart from others in the industry is that Dyrhood has experienced this firsthand, having seen his family business undergo a generational transition.

“I’ve been through multiple iterations of how that takes place, what’s at the table, where the risks are,” he said.

Bend Advisors’ model is unique in that its system helps “draw out the different motivations of each family member at the table, and we use that as a discernment and decision-making tool for the whole family,” he said. “It’s pretty unique in how we’re doing that. No one’s doing it that way.

“We slow things down — have a little bit more of a discovery methodology to help draw out the various members at the table.”

BOARD-BACKED
Also, Bend Advisors is unique because it’s board-governed, he said. “The work we do is backed by a board. It’s set in motion by a board — much like you would expect from a publicly-traded company and the safety that’s created from board governance.” He noted that the board members are paid. Dyrhood serves as chairman, but as the company grows, he could see himself stepping down from the board.

“Our big thing is to provide board-governed strategy that is actionable,” he added. “There’s accountability for them and a coaching guide who’s in their corner along the way.”

John Cole is a board member for Bend Advisors. He’s also co-owner of upscale men’s clothing retailer Walker Brothers, with stores in Rogers and Fayetteville as well as Baumans in Little Rock.

Cole said Dyrhood has been a family friend for many years, and when Dyrhood asked if he’d like to become involved in Bend Advisors, “it took me about 10 seconds to say, ‘Yes.’” Dyrhood’s commitment to furthering the impact of leadership drew Cole to Bend Advisors.

As a board member, Cole said his role is to support Dyrhood. The board will meet monthly and quarterly to review the coaching that he’s done and is doing. If Dyrhood has a need, the board can help him to help others.

Cole said the board will also have opportunities to invest in those that it supports. Dyrhood said the board, whose members have diverse backgrounds, was built to serve clients.

Board member Kelly Fort spent 36 years at Dow Chemical, serving as the engineering and maintenance global operations director, with 6,000 employees across eight countries in his division.

Board member Will Blackman was vice president of sales at a software company when Blackstone acquired it for $1.7 billion. Under his leadership, the company’s revenue rose from $95 million to more than $780 million in seven years.

Board member Tod Barrett, who recently moved to Bentonville, invented the OneBlade straight razor after spending more than $1 million in research and development. His company hit 40% year-over-year growth from 2017 to 2019.

“This is … such a unique way of doing things that at my age, 71, is really exciting because I can help my friend while we help other people,” Cole said. “That’s it. That’s what it’s all about.”