Full case study
Download the complete two-page PDF to read or share.
3
businesses grown from one — plus MC Auto and Masterscapes
150+
doors under property management
6+ yrs
of clean books behind a partner exit both sides felt good about
4
MCD leaders through Finance Essentials, one-on-one mentoring
Client snapshot
- The client
- MCD — Master Clean Greenville • Master Construction & Design • Master Properties Greenville, a family of service companies serving Upstate South Carolina (mcdgreenville.com)
- Founded
- By Kurt Stephens, starting with Master Clean — built to do “everything my brother doesn’t want to do” in the cleaning space
- The philosophy
- Use the company’s skills and resources to make people’s lives better — customers, employees, vendors, and partners alike
- The growth
- One company became three — plus MC Auto mobile detailing and Masterscapes landscaping
- The portfolio
- Full commercial general contractor; 150+ doors under property management
- Spara's role
- Fractional CFO, monthly financial reviews, valuations, and strategic counsel — since day one
Services used
- Fractional CFO
- Accounting & financial reporting
- Cash flow & retainer design
- Business valuation
- Partnership operating agreements
- Banking & lending introductions
- Exit strategy facilitation
- Finance Essentials training
The challenge
When Kurt Stephens decided to start a business, one of his first calls was to Spara. Kurt’s brother was building an exterior cleaning business, and Kurt saw opportunity in everything his brother didn’t want to do — interior cleans, property cleanups, and the services that pair with them. Master Clean Greenville was born.
Kurt knew from the start that a young business can’t be expert in everything. Finance, forecasting, cash flow, tax filings, and onboarding personnel were not where he wanted his attention — and they were exactly where mistakes would be costly. Having worked with Chris Rawlings through a prior organization, Kurt called him at about day one: “Chris, we’re starting this, and we’re going to need some help.”
Why Spara
Master Clean’s open-handed approach — “whatever you need us to do, we’ll do” — filled its hands quickly. Property investors who hired the company for cleanups began asking for renovation work, and with construction experience on the team, MCD started saying yes. When Kurt’s insurance broker warned that renovation work needed its own coverage and its own books, Master Construction & Design was launched — growing from specialty licensing into a fully licensed commercial general contractor.
Property management followed the same pattern. As MCD acquired, renovated, and flipped properties in the Upstate — with Chris’s help on the numbers — it made no sense to lose margin to outside property managers. Master Properties Greenville was licensed and launched, and today manages more than 150 doors. None of it was mapped out on day one. All of it was vetted, one decision at a time, with Spara at the table.
Each month, the operators of all three companies sit down with Kurt’s full C-suite — and with Chris, the other member of that C-suite — to walk through the numbers. If there was a cliff one month, why? If spending blipped in a category, what happened? It is transparent, accountable, and an open reflection on the health of each business. And in Kurt’s words, it’s genuinely a fun time — the Spara team even places friendly bets on where each company will land by year end.
The partnership, phase by phase
Phase 1 · Day one: foundation & discipline
From the first months, Spara handled the finances, filings, and forecasting so Kurt could build the business. The counsel was candid from the start — when a subcontracting arrangement didn’t feel right, Chris’s answer was simple: “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Cash was king, and Spara helped answer how fast to grow and how much debt to carry.
Phase 2 · Branching into new businesses
When Master Construction & Design launched, Spara drafted the operating agreement for Kurt’s first partnership. As projects got bigger, Spara designed a retainer process so MCD wasn’t acting as the bank at the front of every job — and opened doors to banking relationships and private-party lending when opportunities exceeded what one company could fund alone.
Phase 3 · The hardest curve
When Kurt and his construction-side partner found their visions diverging, Spara moderated the discussions, performed a professional valuation based on comparable Upstate company sales, and — drawing on more than six years of clean books — helped structure an exit strategy that worked for both parties. No one felt slighted. In Kurt’s words, that third-party assessment was “priceless.”
Phase 4 · A seat at every decision
Today, every strategic move starts with a call to Chris — property acquisitions, new business ideas, even key hires. When MCD recruited a new COO, Kurt flew the candidate in from Michigan partly so he could have lunch with Chris. Four MCD leaders have completed Spara’s Finance Essentials program, each with one-on-one mentoring tailored to their role.
Results
Three businesses, one table — monthly reviews bring all three companies’ operators and the full C-suite into the same room — transparent, accountable, and genuinely enjoyable.
The hardest transition, handled — a partner exit both sides felt good about, built on a professional valuation and years of clean books.
Leaders who speak finance — four leaders through Finance Essentials — operators who understand the statements behind the businesses they run.
Growth without floundering — retainer processes, banking relationships, and lending introductions that let MCD take on bigger work without becoming the bank.
Peace of mind — asked whether Spara lets him worry less, Kurt’s answer: “Absolutely. 100%.” — and his wife would say the same.
In Kurt's words
“If there’s any model that’s scalable, it’s the Spara model — working alongside young companies, keeping pricing low so it grows with the company instead of constraining it. We’ve grown together as a result.”
“Chris and Spara provided the third-party observations and assessment we really needed to do that with confidence. That was priceless.”
“Even as a fractional CFO, he really functions as a viable member of the team. They’re a very robust team working in the background for us.”
“He’s a safety net. Having people who are aware of your space and know what’s going on is invaluable — it helps everyone rest easy.”
“They don’t know what they don’t know. I want people around me who are helping us understand what’s down the road — not just what’s right in front of us.”
“Anybody can find a bookkeeper. You need to find a partner.”
“If another entrepreneur called me tomorrow and said, I’m thinking about hiring Spara? Look no further.”