Creative solutions born out of experience.
Twelve East is a capital advisory firm built on a decade of experience on the other side of the table. We bring deep knowledge of how capital is structured, priced, and negotiated to every engagement.
our story
Capital advisory shaped by solving complex liquidity needs
Our founders, John Worley and Scott Cohen, spent over a decade at a boutique universal bank across Chicago, LA, New York, and San Francisco. They originated loans as direct lenders while also advising clients on their liquidity needs, helping those clients run a competitive process that produced options for them to choose. That dual experience is the foundation of this firm.
The pattern they saw was consistent: clients entering complex capital transactions rarely had an advisor who understood how capital providers structure, price, and negotiate. Twelve East was built to be that advisor.
Transaction volume
$300M+
Deals referred by bulge bracket banks
42%
Closed deals with repeat clients
26%
Co-Founder
John spent 11 years at a boutique universal bank in Chicago, where he rose to Executive Vice President and co-led the firm's balance-sheet lending and investment banking practices. He originated loans as a direct lender and provided capital markets advisory services to clients who preferred optionality. That experience is the foundation of every engagement at Twelve East: knowing how investment committees work, where pricing flexibility exists, and what it takes to close.
John's focus areas include NAV-based lending for family offices and high-net-worth individuals, and growth capital facilities for lower-middle-market companies.
John graduated from Illinois Wesleyan where he also met his wife. They now live in the western suburbs of Chicago with their two daughters.
Co-Founder
Scott’s career has included direct lending, investment banking, and financial advisory. Most of his career has been with a Chicago-based boutique universal bank where he co-led origination and deal execution across the firm’s primary business units. After leaving New York, he opened the firm’s San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, building a network that expands coast to coast and covers a wide variety of industry and capital ecosystems.
Scott’s focus areas include founder and family office liquidity, secondary transactions, and structured capital for venture and PE-backed companies and their founders.
Scott graduated from the Miami University (Ohio) Farmer School of Business. He lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two kids.