Outside in.
Not inside out.
The market already has the answer.
Just listen.
Operator-grade
intelligence.
firstground supports equity investors and strategic buyers across the full investment cycle — insight from first-hand operating experience, tested against operational reality rather than the data room.
The core is not hardware but intelligence: industrial assets — batteries above all — are continuous data sources. Voltage, current, GPS and usage patterns reveal how operations actually run and where the efficiency sits — and quantified efficiency finances transformation, validated at 30% cost savings in live full-fleet benchmarks. Ground handling is one application; the same logic applies wherever battery-powered assets operate.
Five disciplines,
one operating logic.
- 01
Operator Due Diligence
Reality-testing management claims, business plans and sales pipelines: customer quality, order backlog, scalability — including whether a target's assets and data can be turned into measurable process efficiency.
- 02
Building International Sales Organizations
Design and build-out across the USA, Europe, the Middle East, APAC and India: market entry strategy, partner selection, key hires, steering the first 12–24 months.
- 03
Controlling Advisory Board & Monitoring
Independent post-deal oversight, in aviation and adjacent asset-intensive sectors: execution, liquidity, milestones — early, unvarnished signals.
- 04
Transition & Turnaround
Founder succession, post-deal leadership changes, operational crisis management and restructuring execution.
- 05
Financing Rounds (Shareholder Side)
Term sheet logic, security structures, shareholder loans, balancing existing and incoming investors.
Typical situations
we are called into.
Before the deal
The pipeline looks strong, the growth story is compelling — on paper. You need someone who has run these numbers as an operator, not read them in a data room.
Scaling the thesis
Your investment case depends on international expansion. What you need is not a market study, but someone who has built sales organizations in the US, the Middle East, APAC and India himself.
Beyond aviation
Cargo, intralogistics, marine, mining, drones: wherever battery-powered assets operate, their data can carry the efficiency case — or expose it.
After the closing
The deal is done — now execution begins. An independent board member who reality-tests plans, numbers and milestones gives you early signals instead of late surprises.
When things go sideways
A portfolio company misses its plan, or a founder transition stalls. What's needed is a neutral third party who has navigated both — from the inside.
Helmuth
von Grolman
Helmuth von Grolman is an entrepreneur with multiple company foundings, market entries across the USA, Europe, the Middle East, APAC and India, restructuring mandates and various advisory board roles.
Most recently he founded Colibri Energy, combining industrial battery systems with a fleet intelligence platform for airport ground support equipment. Following its Series A-2 and an orderly management handover, he is active today as Founder & Private Investor.
Selected engagements through firstground.