About Longshore
We help build great companies.
Firm story
Longshore Capital Partners was founded in Chicago by partners who have invested together in the lower middle market for over 20 years, previously as Partners at LaSalle Capital. Longshore was started to do one thing well: scale technology-enabled services businesses.
Value creation
The RAMP process
Every Longshore investment starts with a value creation plan built on four tenets — developed with management, not handed to them.
Revenue
Sharpen the go-to-market strategy, build or optimize the sales and marketing organization, and add services the existing customer base already wants.
Acquisitions
Define what to buy versus build, focus on cross-sell and strategic logic, and install sourcing discipline so the company can eventually execute deals with less board oversight.
Management
Add talent in the functions that unlock the next stage of growth, and top-grade where the value creation plan demands it.
Performance
Put technology to work inside the business. Build systems that give management real visibility into pricing, churn, and cash. Introduce automation, including AI, that streamlines internal process and raises service levels.
Partnership
How we partner
Operational engagement.
Collaboration with our portfolio companies and taking a value-added approach are core to our culture and investing philosophy. We like to roll up our sleeves as we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with management teams to help execute a shared vision, many times in areas outside their core expertise (add-on acquisitions, geographic expansion, sales team buildout – whatever the challenge may be).
Aligned incentives.
Our incentive programs extend meaningful equity ownership to the executives and teams building the business. When a company performs, the people responsible share directly in the outcome.
Disciplined capital structures.
We employ leverage thoughtfully and by design. Prudent capital structures keep management focused on growth rather than debt service — and they are why our companies remain resilient across economic cycles.
Operating resources
People, partnerships, and a plan
Operational support at Longshore is tailored to the needs of each company with expertise in key functional areas of the value creation plan.
Dedicated operating specialists.
Longshore operating resources work directly with portfolio company teams on priority initiatives.
An executive network.
Proven operators and functional leaders we can bring to a board seat, a key hire, or a hard problem.
Tailored playbooks that drive value.
Codified approaches to the work that recurs across our portfolio: sales and go-to-market structure, M&A integration, and AI strategy and implementation.
A plan built together.
Value creation planning at Longshore is collaborative — the RAMP plan is developed with management, not handed to them.