History

Clarity was formed in 1994 by Richard Sheiman. Across the years, we have made several step changes in our business model while remaining true to our foundational thesis that every major business decision demands reliable market intelligence.

Sheiman had previously worked at Harlan Brown & Co,, where he learned the principles of market segmentation and the fundamental importance of definitions. Brown branded the term BRiC (Business Rival Cluster) and we employed "Ethical Competitive Intelligence" methods to gather intelligence on the operations & strategy of private companies and corporate operating divisions - long before PE was a major asset class. These studies could be produced on any market niche and whatever facet that the clients needed to know. Sheiman studied esoteric things in probing details, ranging from microwaveable foods to demand drivers for pick and place equipment for circuit assembly. While consumer products were interesting, his real passion was to investigate competitive positioning and what drives success in the Industrial Sector. 

Sheiman formed the company with 2 clients, Dover and Emerson. For our first 15 years, we principally produced Planning Support studies and Acquisition Due Diligence work. 

In 2006, Clarity morphed in to an M&A Advisory firm working from the Buy Side.