The Right Approach to Growth Capital.

Real success requires more than just capital.
Culture fit and shared goals are crucial.

We invest $3-30 million in bootstrapped B2B companies with $2-20 million in revenue

Majority or minority investments

Growth capital or liquidity

A NATIONAL NETWORK WITH A LOCAL APPROACH

In addition to providing capital, we help our partners with strategy, business development, recruiting key personnel, accelerating sales and marketing teams and processes, and positioning the business for an eventual exit. We are based in Kansas City and find that many entrepreneurs prefer a partner with local accountability and a deep coastal network to help solve the growing pains common to companies in high-growth mode.

We also personally invest 5x more than the VC / private equity norm. Like the entrepreneurs we back, we have meaningful skin in the game.

SOFTWARE AND INTERNET-ENABLED SERVICES

New technologies have made starting and growing a business cheaper than ever. We believe this has shifted the balance of entrepreneurial power from those with deep technical knowledge to entrepreneurs with deep industry knowledge who can use technology to solve problems and disrupt antiquated industries.

Why Five Elms?

FLEXIBILITY TO MEET YOUR GOALS

We are comfortable taking both majority and minority positions and structure investments to meet each founder's unique ownership and capital objectives. 40% of the investments we make are to provide partial or full liquidity to owners, and 60% of our capital is used to fund growth initiatives.

SALES & MARKETING EXPERTISE

Our sales and marketing support team can increase your marketing funnel of new, qualified leads by over 150%.

MAINTAIN YOUR CULTURE

A company's culture is crucial to its success. Our goal is to help entrepreneurs change their industries, not their company culture. We are not operators and don't force ourselves into daily operating decisions.

ACCOUNTABILITY

We live in the middle of the country. We find that most entrepreneurs prefer a partner who combines a "local" approach with a deep coastal network to accelerate business development, recruiting, and accessing the capital markets. We bring the best of both worlds, having worked at firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley prior to returning to Kansas City.

RESOURCES AND VALUE ADD

We don't just say we add value, we actually do the work. We have helped our partners by leading M&A efforts, building scalable sales and marketing organizations, recruiting key personnel, and serving as an interim CFO (to name a few).

we hustle

Much like the companies we back, we aren't the 800lb gorilla in our space - so we have to try harder

"The best thing about having Five Elms as a partner has been your ongoing approach to the relationship"

Rick West & Henry Ho, Co-Founders of Field Agent

"Five Elms has always allowed us to operate as we saw best for the company"

Matt Motsick & Bryan Luttrel, Co-Founders of Catapult International

"What I love is that you guys really care about our success and actually roll up your sleeves to support us".

Carl Wasinger, CEO Smart Warehousing

"Five Elms has facilitated real commercial opportunities for us."

Milton Altenberg, CEO Quest Inspar

"Five Elms has been great. They invested in our first institutional round, helped us refine the model, execute on our growth plan, and introduced us to the group that led our $50 million Series C."

Justin Dangel, CEO Goji

Portfolio

Columbus, OH

Leading SaaS provider of ITSM, PPM, and resource management solutions for higher education IT departments

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San Diego, CA

Leading SaaS provider of security operations management solutions for security guard operators, corporates, and universities

Lenexa, KS

A SaaS-enabled warehousing and logistics firm specializing in just-in-time retail & ecommerce fulfillment and cold storage solutions

San Francisco, CA and Kansas City

A direct to consumer insurance exchange providing comparison shopping across life, auto, home, and health insurance

Salt Lake City, UT

SaaS provider of online tax and accounting services that merges cloud-based technology with expert accountants

Fayetteville, AR

Retail auditing and data collection for CPG companies through proprietary network of mobile-powered agents

Omaha, NE

Workflow management and managed WordPress hosting platform serving over 40,000 designers and creative agencies

Salt Lake City, UT

Leading provider of SaaS technology and textbook rental solutions for college bookstores

Kansas City, MO

United Medicare Advisors operates a senior health insurance exchange

Seattle, WA & Houston, TX

A robotic pipeline restoration firm providing the least invasive solution to extend the life of aging water and oil & gas pipelines

Atlanta, GA

SaaS provider of association management software for small staff associations and membership organizations

Little Rock, AR

SaaS provider of communication and content publishing solutions for K-12 school districts

Nashville, TN

SaaS provider of environmental health, safety, and compliance solutions for manufacturers

Kansas City, MO

Spring Venture Group builds and operates insurance exchanges.

Dallas, TX and Miami, FL

A leading provider of pet death services and memorial products to veterinarians and pet owners.

Select Prior Investments

Salt Lake City, UT

SaaS provider of power market modeling solutions for utilities, traders, and consultants

Salt Lake City, UT

SaaS education platform that simplifies video-based coursework for professors and students

Franklin, MA

SaaS payment intelligence and marketing solutions for financial institutions

Boston, MA

The largest online comparison shopping exchange for auto & home insurance in the U.S.

Boston, MA

A commercial bank focused on lending for home improvement and solar panel installation

Acquired by Groupon

Baltimore, MD

OrderUp is an online & mobile food ordering and delivery service. OrderUp was successfully bootstrapped to serve 30 markets in its first 10 years, Five Elms invested in the company's first institutional raise, providing capital to help accelerate new market launches and to build out the company's executive team. OrderUp was acquired just 10 months into our investment by Groupon to power its national online food ordering and delivery service.

Live Well Financial is a leading reverse mortgage lender focused on helping senior homeowners unlock equity in their home

Acquired by Mercator

Lenexa, KS

Catapult is a SaaS platform for shipping pricing and rate management. Five Elms took a minority stake in the company in 2010 and actively worked with the company as it scaled and assisted with the institutionalization of the company's infrastructure. In July of 2015, the company was purchased by Warburg Pincus-backed Mercator for cash and stock, which we still hold.

Acquired by Asurion

NEW Customer Service was the leading provider of consumer product protection programs in the US. TH Lee Putnam Ventures bought NEW in 2004 for $370 million. In 2006, NEW was sold to Berkshire Partners LLC and Freeman Spogli & Co. for $1.21 billion. In 2008, NEW merged with Asurion to create the world's single largest provider of product protection services.

To learn more about Asurion, visit www.asurion.com

IPO (NYSE:FXCM)

A leading online foreign exchange trading firm catering to retail and small institutional markets. Five Elms purchased a secondary equity stake in FXCM in late 2007 in partnership with Long Ridge Equity Partners as part of Refco's bankruptcy process. The company went public on the NYSE in December 2010. We sold the last of our FXCM stake in 2013.

Acquired by HARMAN International

Symphony Services was a leading provider of technology-based product engineering outsourcing services. TH Lee Putnam Ventures invested $20 million in Symphony Services in 2003. In 2012, Symphony merged with Teleca, creating the world's leading services organization developing software and solutions for mobile appliance OEMs and telecommunications operators. In 2015, Symphony Teleca sold to HARMAN International (NYSE: HAR) for $780 million.

To learn more about HARMAN International, visit www.harman.com

Acquired by ePLDT

SPi Global provides content outsourcing services in the legal, publishing, and healthcare verticals in addition to its industry-agnostic call center capabilities. TH Lee Putnam Ventures bought SPi along with GIC Special Investments in 2004 for $90 million. The purchase was the first private equity-backed take private in Philippine Stock Exchange History. TH Lee Putnam and GIC sold SPi Global to ePLDT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company in 2006 for $159 million.

Location Matters

"Great entrepreneurs are everywhere, yet the vast majority of capital is in Silicon Valley. Many entrepreneurs prefer to work with investors with a similar mindset and approach. Our Kansas City roots are unique."

Fred Coulson, Managing Partner Five Elms Capital

Your Team

Connections + Value Add

We help solve the growing pains common to companies in high-growth mode: developing and prioritizing growth strategies, recruiting complimentary members to the team, growing a process-driven sales organization, institutionalizing financial infrastructure, business development / partnerships, and accessing the capital markets.