Hey, I'm Devin.
My name is Devin Byrne and I'm a business strategist, operator, and consultant based in Portland, Oregon.
About Me
I grew up working for a 100+ year old family-owned aquatic nursery in New York. I learned to build and maintain ponds and water gardens and did it all around town. I bought a small Boston Whaler and worked on it all the time. When I was 16 I got my captains license and ran the shuttle boat for a yacht club.I got a degree in Environmental Science and spent a decade working on remediation projects for energy companies, national laboratories, municipalities, and real estate developers.I became a natural gas pipeline engineer in New York City. I personally designed and managed $50M+ of capital construction projects and help build processes for a newly formed business unit.In late 2019 my Wife and I left New York and moved to Portland, Oregon. COVID happened. We arrived in Oregon to a lockdown and decided to start a home physical therapy business to see folks who couldn't get into a clinic - We ended up doing this for 3-years and saw 100+ patients. It was a feel-good, profitable, mom + pop shop (just the two of us) and it was our introduction to self employment.We networked with a lot of other physical therapy clinics and health groups. I started helping some of these businesses, and eventually working on other business opportunities both in and outside of healthcare.I collect smart questions, pay attention to incentives, look for leverage, and obsess over operations and distribution.I pursued something called a "Searchfund" in 2021. A relatively new kind of financing vehicle used to acquire an existing operating business. In 18-months I signed hundreds of NDA's, met tons of owners, and looked under the hood of their operations. While I may not have found the right deal for me, I firmly believe this is the best damn MBA you can earn and don't have to pay for - I got dozens of reps. Saw how real leadership works. Learned new creative operating models. And began to understand what things really matter - where a dollar comes from, when it comes in, how it comes in, and what happens to transform it inside of a business.I love stories of the Old West. I'm a trend-hunter, and a public records junkie. I like dissecting industry dynamics and relish finding the things that allow companies to succeed for a long time.Some of my work is included below.
Let's talk.
I'm a surfer, a hiker, a golfer, and am always working with a number of businesses.Shoot me an email if you need help or are building something cool!