“Three years ago, I called my boss and said I wasn’t sure we’d be able to clean up our entities. It’s taken a lot of work to get where we are today, and Discern helped us get there.” - Jeff Shoemaker, VP of Finance

The Challenge: Limited Visibility Across a Growing Entity Portfolio

As Bluestone Lane grew from a neighborhood café into a national brand operating Australian-inspired coffee shops and cafés across multiple states, its legal entity portfolio expanded just as quickly.

Over time, compliance became increasingly difficult to manage. The team inherited entities with little visibility into what was active and which registrations still required attention.

When Bluestone Lane partnered with Discern in 2024, they expected to improve their compliance process. Instead, they uncovered a much bigger opportunity.

A comprehensive review revealed:

• 8 entities were missing from their previous provider's primary account

• 11 state registrations were out of good standing

• More than 20 entities could potentially be dissolved, reducing ongoing compliance obligations, administrative burden, and future costs

Their previous provider was largely passive - the information existed, but the work was not actively managed.

“The work just sat there.” - Jeff Shoemaker, VP of Finance

For a growing company, that created unnecessary risk. Closed entities continued generating notices, state requirements were difficult to track, and the team lacked confidence that everything was being handled appropriately.

Why Bluestone Lane Chose Discern

Bluestone Lane needed more than a registered agent or filing service. They needed a partner who could proactively evaluate their entity portfolio, identify compliance gaps, and help execute the work required to resolve them.

Discern conducted a comprehensive review of Bluestone Lane’s entities and helped answer critical questions:

• Which entities were active and which needed to be closed?

• Which states required additional filings?

• Why were certain entities out of compliance?

• What actions were needed to restore good standing?

Instead of waiting for problems to surface, Discern helped Bluestone Lane create a clear path forward.

Results at a Glance

• 61 entities reviewed during onboarding

• 66 active entities now managed through Discern

• 100% of active entities in good standing

• 0 overdue periodic reports

• Thousands of dollars in penalties avoided through proactive compliance management

• Reduced risk during an equity raise with a cleaner, more organized entity portfolio

The Impact: From Reactive Compliance to Confidence

When Bluestone Lane partnered with Discern, the team uncovered compliance gaps across its entity portfolio, including outdated registrations, outstanding state requirements, and entities that required cleanup.

Discern helped identify the root cause of each issue and worked alongside the team to resolve outstanding items.

A key difference was having a partner who could explain not only that something needed attention, but why.

“Discern can tell us why we’re out of compliance, which is incredibly valuable.” - Dianne Snyder, Treasurer

Today, Bluestone Lane has a complete view of its entity portfolio and confidence that ongoing requirements are being actively managed.

Protecting Growth and Reducing Risk

The value of this work became especially clear during Bluestone Lane’s equity raise.

A clean entity structure is critical during due diligence. By addressing compliance issues before they became larger problems, Bluestone Lane reduced risk and avoided potential complications during a critical business milestone.

“If we had done that two years earlier (without Discern), it would have been way worse.” - Jeff Shoemaker, VP of Finance

A Strategic Compliance Partner

Today, Bluestone Lane no longer has to wonder which entities need attention or whether filings are falling behind.

With Discern, the team has:

• Complete visibility into their entity portfolio

• Confidence that filings and requirements are being tracked

• Fewer compliance surprises

• More time to focus on strategic business priorities

What began as a complex compliance challenge is now a managed, scalable foundation for growth.