Why I Founded Black Ridge Advisory

The Crisis No One Talks About

After starting eight companies and successfully exiting four over the course of my career, I've learned one fundamental truth: every business, whether public or private, will face moments of crisis that test everything you've built. In those critical moments, you need clarity. You need perspective. You need someone who can see what you can't.

That lifeline didn't exist for me—and that's exactly why I founded Black Ridge Advisory.

When you're running a company through a crisis, your internal team is often too close to the problem. They're knee-deep in the weeds, fighting fires, managing personalities, and drowning in operational details. At times the fog of war becomes so thick that finding a clear path forward feels impossible. I've been there to many times to count.

What I desperately needed—but couldn't find—was a trusted third party who could work on the business, not in it. Someone with the technical depth and operational experience to cut through the noise, clarify the real problem, and recommend a concrete path forward. Without the bullshit. Without the ego. Without the endless engagement cycles.

The Traditional Advisory Gap

Traditional business advisory firms have their place, but they weren't built for crisis. Long, drawn-out engagements. Countless discovery meetings. Thick decks full of frameworks and buzzwords. By the time they deliver recommendations, the market has moved, the opportunity has closed, or the damage is done.

When you're facing a technical crisis, a capital crunch, a strategic crossroads, or a turnaround situation, you need help now. Not in six weeks. Not after the third steering committee meeting. Now.

What I Wish I Had

Throughout my journey—from pioneering cloud computing at InsynQ before "the cloud" existed, to co-founding and selling Thumb Media Group, to building CloudRunner's patented platform, to turning around distressed tech firms—I always wished for:

A trusted advisor who had actually built, scaled, and exited companies

Technical credibility deep enough to understand cloud architecture, SaaS economics, and AI strategy

Operational experience in turnarounds, capital formation, and strategic partnerships, building leadership teams and engineering lean operational process that directly impacted the bottom line.

Speed and clarity without the traditional consulting overhead

Straight talk about what's actually broken and how to fix it

Someone who could parachute in, assess the situation with fresh eyes, cut through organizational politics and complexity, and deliver actionable recommendations that actually work.

The Black Ridge Difference

Black Ridge Advisory is the firm I needed but never had.

We bring 160 years of combined hands-on experience across cloud computing, SaaS, DTC, CPG, AI strategy, turnaround management, and entrepreneurship. We've been in the founder's seat, board seat and in advisory positions. We've raised capital, restructured debt. We've managed exits. We've fixed broken companies. We've pioneered new markets.

Most importantly, we work on your business with the clarity that only comes from standing outside the fog of war. We don't do six-month engagements or theoretical frameworks. We deliver rapid, practical guidance when you need it most—whether that's navigating a technical crisis, repositioning for market changes, managing a turnaround, or preparing for strategic opportunities.

My Commitment

Having built my career on cloud infrastructure, managed service ecosystems, and AI-driven business transformation—and having recently completed MIT Sloan's AI strategy program—I understand both the technical complexity and business realities of modern companies.

 But more than credentials, I bring empathy. I know what it's like to face a crisis with your team too close to see clearly. I know the frustration of needing answers now, not after a lengthy consulting process.

Black Ridge Advisory exists to be that trusted third party I always wished I had: technically savvy, operationally experienced, and committed to clarity without bullshit.

Because sometimes, the most valuable thing isn't another internal meeting, it's an outside perspective that can see the path forward when you can't.

John P. Gorst

Founder, Black Ridge Advisory

Eight companies. Countless crises. One lesson: clarity wins