About
A boutique advisory firm built around one principle: senior attention, small footprint.
Polaris Global Advisors was created to serve a specific kind of client: owners and executives of small and middle-market companies who need genuine senior counsel - not a leveraged team of associates producing decks.
Every engagement is led personally. That constraint is intentional. It means we take on fewer clients, but the work we do is deeper, faster, and directly accountable.
Our practice spans three areas that tend to reinforce each other: transformation work with owner-led businesses, one-on-one coaching for senior leaders, and fractional CFO leadership for companies operating or expanding internationally.
We work quietly, we stay close to the data, and we tell you the truth even when it’s inconvenient. That is the whole offer.
Founder
Meet Justin Smith
Justin Smith
Founder & Principal Advisor
Justin Smith brings nearly three decades of experience advising executives on their businesses. Today his practice is focused on small and middle-market companies, but his work has spanned the full spectrum—from early-stage startups to Fortune 100 enterprises. Based in Portland, Oregon, he previously spent twenty years in San Francisco and Silicon Valley advising companies at the center of the technology economy.
While Justin has deep expertise in high-growth technology businesses, his experience cuts across nearly every industry. More importantly, he is not only an advisor—he has lived the owner and executive life himself. He has founded startups, bought and sold businesses, and held executive and practice-leader roles at some of the world's largest advisory firms.
Justin's approach rests on a simple principle expressed by George Addair: "Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear." He guides owners and executives through the productive anxiety that comes with real growth, helping them reach what sits just beyond their current grasp.
Away from the office, Justin is an over-the-hill ex-ultra marathoner and a proud fur-baby dad. He believes that work should include genuine enjoyment, and that the strongest client relationships are built on personal bonds. That philosophy makes every engagement more rewarding.
Education
B.A. in Economics and Accounting, cum laude
Claremont McKenna College
Other experience
- • Adjunct professor, Golden Gate University MST program
- • Frequent speaker on international financial matters