Our History

Practical Growth Advisors was founded in 2018 by Emmett Moore and John Coffin. Emmett and John have known each other for over 40 years, first meeting as freshman in college where they lived in the same dorm.  After graduation, both began their careers while pursuing graduate studies—further deepening their expertise in finance, accounting, operations, sales and strategy.

Emmett built his career as a financial and operational executive for high-growth companies, specializing in forecasting, capital strategy, and operational scaling. During his career, he raised over $2 billion in debt and equity capital and was the senior financial person on two IPOs.  His experience gives him insight into how companies organize internally and raise capital externally to support growth. 

John spend thirty years in banks, first with Chase and Wachovia banks, then as a co-founder of Atlanta-based regional bank, Atlantic Capital Bank. He helped guide the corporate and private bank through sustained growth to over $3 billion in assets and to the public market. His experience gives unique insight into how financial institutions assess and support businesses.

John and Emmett reconnected in 2018 and recognized a powerful opportunity to combine their complementary skill sets. They founded Practical Growth Advisors with a shared heart to serve and advise founder through third generation business owners. Since then, PGA has worked with over 100 privately owned companies to create strategic clarity through forecasting. Our mission will always be to partner with owners to protect what they’ve built, recognize long term value, and support the legacy they want to leave behind.