I have been investing in the lower-middle market for over 20 years

I have been investing in the lower-middle market and HQ'd in the Chicago area for over 20 years.

Most of our transactions have been first time seller situations which is arguably one of our greatest strengths. Signing up and closing a deal with a business owner who has never been through the process before is difficult. As a buyer, you must often stand beside the seller and help guide them over the finish line. Building trust - real trust - along the way is critical. My focus has mostly been business-to-business industrial product and services, though I have also invested in and served on the boards of consumer products companies, SaaS businesses, and web businesses.

We seek businesses with defensible competitive moats, strong margins and free-cash-flow that have a strong cash conversion cycle and do not require significant capex to grow. We strive to build and mentor high performance executives and teams, and believe if you focus on building a good business, enterprise value will follow along. Many aspects of our approach have been honed over years of learning (including making plenty of mistakes) and we continue to believe life-long learning is a must to successful investing and operating of businesses.

I am a big believer in the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition ecosystem and see great potential in the future as more operators with a passion to learn and grow businesses intersect with aging sellers and investors who have experience in being partners with management. Please feel free to reach out if you'd like to swap backgrounds and areas of focus, or if you just have a question.