Protect the base
Keep the company name, listen to the team, meet key customers, and make sure employees know what is staying steady.
Operator-led · Built for growth
A trusted transition for your life's work.
We partner with business owners seeking a succession solution that protects their legacy, supports their employees, and positions the company for long-term success.
$2M–$5M EBITDA
U.S.-based
Owner-operated after close
The model
A new chapter of growth for what you built
Most owners spend a lifetime building something that works. When it comes time to step back, the choices tend to be thin. Sell to a competitor that absorbs the team and retires the name. Sell to a fund that loads the business with debt and trims costs to hit a return. Or wind it down.
We offer another path. We are looking to commit our own capital and our full attention to one business we can own, operate, and grow for the long term. We plan to keep the name, support the team, and invest in what already works so the owner gets a thoughtful transition and the company gets a committed next chapter.
Why Kestrel
The North American Kestrel is a small bird of prey that hovers patiently, reads the whole field, and commits to one thing at a time. It is known for precision over force. That is how we work. We take the time to understand a business deeply, move with focus rather than scale, and commit fully once the fit is right.
Why partner with us
What you can count on
01
Growth, not extraction
We reinvest profits back into the business to build it for the years ahead. Our decisions serve the lasting health of the company, not a fee or a quick flip.
02
Operators at the helm
We step in to lead the company full time from day one. You are handing the business to people who will run it themselves.
03
Your legacy carries forward
Your employees, your customers, and the name you built all carry forward. We learn what is working before we change anything, then build on it.
04
A clear, certain process
We come prepared and move decisively. We do not use diligence as a price-reset exercise. If diligence surfaces something material, we address it directly and transparently.
For owners
Thinking about what comes next?
Start with a confidential conversation about your goals, timeline, and what a good transition would need to protect.
Contact us →After close
What changes Monday morning
Our first job is to protect the legacy you built. Then we invest in the people, systems, and growth that carry it forward.
What we look for
Our criteria
Industry-flexible, quality-first. We look for enduring businesses with recurring demand, trusted teams, and durable cash flow.
EBITDA
$2M – $5M
Annual revenue
$5M – $30M
Headquarters
United States
Consistent profitability
A stable history of cash flow and healthy margins.
Loyal, recurring customers
Long relationships and revenue you can count on year after year.
An owner ready to transition
A founder or family looking to step back, with a team that can carry the daily operations.
A trusted reputation
Known for quality and well regarded in its market.
Strong fit
Durable reputation
- Recurring B2B services or repeat customer relationships
- Field operations, maintenance, compliance, distribution, or specialty services
- Durable local or regional reputation with room to professionalize systems
Usually not a fit
Situations built on fragility
- Turnarounds where the core business is deteriorating
- Heavy customer concentration or one-time project revenue
- Businesses that require the exiting owner to remain the main salesperson forever
Our approach
How a conversation becomes a transition
Confidential first call
Fast fit feedback
Focused diligence
1
Introduction
A short, confidential call to understand your business, your goals, and your timing. No materials are required for the first conversation.
2
Mutual fit
If there is alignment, we review a focused set of financial and operating details, then give clear feedback on whether we are a serious fit.
3
Offer
We put a straightforward offer in writing, grounded in real performance, transition goals, and a structure we believe can close.
4
Diligence
We confirm earnings, customers, team, operations, and key risks with a tight group, working around the business and keeping the process discreet.
5
We step in to lead
We close with a transition plan, communicate what is staying steady, and step into day-to-day leadership.
A clear comparison
How we differ
| Operator-ledKestrel Growth Partners | Financial buyerPrivate equity | Corporate buyerStrategic acquirer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time horizon | Patient, with none of the built-in pressures that force a quick sale | Three to five years by design, then resale | Held as one unit among many |
| Who runs it | A committed owner-operator, on site | A hired executive reporting to the fund | Folded into existing management |
| Your team | Retained and invested in | Often restructured to cut costs | Frequently consolidated |
| Your name and brand | Kept and built on | Maintained until exit | Usually retired |
| The process | Direct, confidential, one decision-maker | Layered approvals and committees | Driven by corporate strategy |
| After the sale | Reinvestment and growth | Cost cuts ahead of a resale | Integration into the parent |
For the deal table
How brokers, lenders, and investors can work with us
A prepared buyer who respects the process
Clear criteria, fast feedback, direct decision-makers, and a serious path to close for the right owner-operated business.
Send an opportunity →An operator-led credit story
Durable cash flow, conservative structure, and two full-time operators focused on preserving the base before pursuing growth.
Discuss debt fit →A focused acquisition thesis with patient upside
One carefully selected company, meaningful operator ownership, and value creation through better systems, sales, and execution.
Discuss capital →The partners
Who you'll work with
The two of us have known and trusted each other since freshman year at Stanford. Between us we bring experience across operations, sales, finance, product, AI, and regulated environments. We have hired teams, managed teams, carried revenue responsibility, and worked inside the kinds of operating systems we now want to improve as owners.
— Jack & Charlie
Contact
Let's talk
If you own a business you care about and are thinking about what comes next, we would value a conversation. Every discussion is confidential and carries no obligation.
hello@kestrelgrowthpartners.comWe treat every conversation, and everything you share with us, in strict confidence.