About Focustar Advisors
At Focustar Advisors, we help business owners and investors create order out of chaos - and we don't just tell you how, we help you execute it.
As an Executive Business Advisor, I bring both strategic expertise and operational implementation support. From business valuations and M&A deal structuring to hands-on turnaround leadership and technology integration, I've spent 30+ years on both sides of complex transactions.
What sets me apart isn't just the strategic analysis - it's that I've actually run operations. I grew a $175M dealership. I executed a $65M three-country transaction. I've led turnarounds, implemented ERP systems, renegotiated supplier contracts, and provided interim C-suite leadership.
When I recommend something, it's because I know how to implement it. And I'll help you do it.
Over the years, across the U.S., Latin America, China, and the Middle East, I've built a trusted network of specialists. Together, we solve tough problems and deliver results - not just recommendations.
Our Leadership Team
James D. A. Felds — Managing Principal
Founder of Focustar Advisors, James brings more than 30 years of experience leading valuations, cross-border financings, turnarounds, and strategic advisory engagements for companies ranging from $1M to $25M in revenue.
With over $1B in financings executed and a career spanning energy, field services, distribution, retail, automotive, manufacturing, and more, James is known for transforming complex challenges into systematic frameworks that deliver clarity and results.
“My expertise lies in creating order out of chaos by transforming complex operational and financial challenges into systematic, manageable solutions - and then helping you implement them. Most advisors stop at recommendations. I roll up my sleeves and help you execute.”
Meryl Felds — Director of Accounting Services.
Meryl is a full-charge bookkeeper and controller with decades of experience managing books for companies across industries — from property management and development firms to service businesses and retail operations.
At Focustar Advisors, she leads our bookkeeping practice, ensuring accuracy in financial records, payroll, reconciliations, and reporting.
Her career includes overseeing the accounting of 20+ companies simultaneously, managing tenant negotiations, and providing full general ledger oversight. Today, she brings that same depth of skill and reliability to small and medium-sized businesses seeking trustworthy bookkeeping services backed by strategic insight.
Why Clients Choose Us
Strategic valuation and advisory expertise trusted in transactions exceeding $1B.
Reliable accounting & bookkeeping services that ensure clean, accurate financials.
A boutique, client-focused practice where every engagement receives personal attention.
The Deal That Changed Everything
On September 10, 2001, I shook hands on the sale of my hotel-based air and water purification products manufacturing company to NYSE-listed EcoLab...
The next morning, my plane was force-landed in Moline, Illinois. As the world changed forever, hotels closed indefinitely, and the deal I'd spent months negotiating began to unravel. I made the difficult decision to pull out.
But that wasn't the end of my story - it was just the beginning of a new chapter that would take me through some of the most complex international deals imaginable, a six-year sailing adventure, and ultimately to a focused mission: helping business owners understand their true value before time runs out.
The Six-Year Sabbatical That Brought Clarity
After completing the U.S.-Venezuela-China transaction in 2016, a deal that tested every skill I'd developed over three decades. I did something unexpected. I retired.
My wife and I bought a trawler and spent six years cruising to the Caribbean. (You can read about the adventure and see pictures of the trip at: LifeOnKokomo.com) Those years on the water gave me time to reflect on hundreds of deals, thousands of negotiations, and the patterns that determine success or failure in business transactions.
"Somewhere between the Bahamas and Grenada, I realized that in every deal I'd done, whether it succeeded or failed the crucial factor was always the same: accurate valuation at the right time."
When I returned in 2022 and rekindled my consulting practice, I knew exactly where to focus. Business owners needed someone who had not only studied valuations but had lived through the consequences of both accurate and inaccurate ones, or none at all. Someone who understood that behind every valuation is a human story, a family's future, a life's work.
