So you’ve built a successful company. Not being the type to rest on your laurels you’re probably wondering, “What’s the next step? How do I get there from here? What’s my exit strategy? Who do I take with me?” And, most likely, “Who can I trust to help me get there?”

Wanting to take a business to the next level is something we understand from firsthand experience. ClearLight’s partners are former CEOs, CFOs and operating executives, so we understand your position and your options.  And we’d like to help.

Our team has extensive experience in every facet of business, taking profitable companies through to the next phase.  As operating executives we’ve learned the value of flexibility—we know that businesses do not always grow in a straight line.  We’ve operated with and without debt, taken companies public and private, and sold to strategic and financial buyers. Working with management, we’ve helped smooth the transition to the next generation of leadership.

Our role is to serve as a supporting sounding board, advice provided when needed.  We stay away from daily operations and issuing directives.

Flexibility and Patience
We have the ability to invest in companies of different size and types – and in a variety of deal structures. We have managed and invested in health care, consumer, business services, industrial and financial services businesses – across the country.  Our interests do not fit into a narrow box.

This flexibility allows us to solve our partners’ needs in a variety of ways – whether it be providing liquidity to shareholders with differing interests, or investing growth capital to expand or make a strategic acquisition. But we don’t just solve our economic goals, we become partners with the common aim of moving your business to the next level over the long term.

Invest in Quality, and Be Supportive
When we decide to invest in a company it is ultimately because we believe in the business and the management team responsible for its success. We do not dictate strategy or focus solely on financial results.  As board members of our portfolio companies, we work hard to offer genuine help where and when it’s wanted –while staying out of the day-to-day operations.

Our culture is one of encouragement and support.  Our ability to take a long-term view allows for real alignment around key decisions like hiring senior talent, making acquisitions, and investing in new growth initiatives.  We don’t try to run the businesses in which we invest—rather, we seek to create a home for talented executives where capital is never an issue and all resources are brought to bear on solving business challenges. 

The Bottom Line: What our CEO Partners Say

CEOs cite several tangible benefits of working with us: