Who is Five Elms Capital?
Five Elms Capital is a growth equity firm headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, founded in 2007 by Fred Coulson, who remains CEO. Five Elms invests exclusively in B2B software and reports more than $3 billion in assets under management. The firm employs more than 80 people, an unusually large team for an investor focused on companies under $20 million in revenue.
Five Elms raises traditional closed-end funds, so every investment must eventually be sold or taken public. Fund sizes have grown from $21 million for Fund I in 2007 to $780 million for Fund V in 2021 and $1.1 billion for Fund VI, which closed in October 2024. The Five Elms website lists 47 active portfolio companies and 42 completed exits and realizations.
The fund structure matters to a founder weighing an approach. Capital from a 2024 vintage fund has to be returned to limited partners within that fund’s life, so a Five Elms investment is a step toward a later sale of the company, not a permanent home.
What does Five Elms Capital buy?
Five Elms targets B2B software companies with roughly $2 million to $20 million in revenue and writes checks of $5 million to $75 million, taking either majority or minority positions. Five Elms does not publish these bands on its own website; the figures come from third-party investor profiles.
| Criterion | Stated range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2 million to $20 million | Growth Equity Interview Guide profile |
| Check size | $5 million to $75 million; SuperScout lists $15 million to $150 million | Growth Equity Interview Guide; SuperScout |
| Ownership | Majority or minority | Growth Equity Interview Guide; SuperScout |
| Use of proceeds | Growth capital or founder liquidity | Growth Equity Interview Guide |
| Sector | B2B software, including vertical and AI-focused products | fiveelms.com |
| Geography | North America and Europe, per deal announcements | Five Elms press releases |
The two third-party profiles disagree on check size. Growth Equity Interview Guide lists $5 million to $75 million, while SuperScout lists $15 million to $150 million, a spread consistent with fund sizes that grew fivefold between 2016 and 2024. Disclosed checks in 2024 to 2026 announcements ran $23 million to $75 million, which suggests the current sweet spot sits well above the old minimum.
What has Five Elms Capital actually invested in?
Five Elms announced at least 13 platform investments between January 2023 and June 2026, and the disclosed rounds ranged from $23 million to $75 million. The firm states it has backed more than 70 software platforms since 2007.
| Company | Announced | Disclosed amount |
|---|---|---|
| BoreDM | June 2026 | Not disclosed |
| Trybe | January 2026 | $30 million Series A |
| Ritten | December 2025 | $35 million Series B |
| Prospyr | December 2025 | Not disclosed |
| Digitail | November 2025 | $23 million Series B |
| Motivity | March 2025 | $27 million |
| RoomPriceGenie | February 2025 | $75 million |
| Magma Math | November 2024 | $40 million Series A |
| 360Player | November 2024 | $25 million |
| Gymdesk | July 2024 | $32.5 million |
| Scilife | June 2024 | Not disclosed |
| ContractSafe | January 2023 | $27.5 million |
The RoomPriceGenie announcement paired the $75 million investment with the appointment of a new CEO, Chas Scarantino. Growth investors sometimes combine capital with leadership changes, so a founder should ask directly how Five Elms views the existing management team before terms are signed.
What does Five Elms Capital typically pay?
Five Elms does not disclose entry valuations, revenue multiples, or ownership percentages in any public deal announcement Windsor Drake reviewed. The only pricing evidence in the public record is check size, and a check size is not a valuation. A $30 million investment can represent 20 percent of a company or 70 percent depending on the price behind it.
What is public: disclosed checks of $23 million to $75 million across 2024 to 2026, a $1.1 billion latest fund, and a stated appetite for both minority growth rounds and majority recapitalizations. What is not public: the multiples Five Elms pays, how much of any check is founder liquidity versus primary capital, and the preference terms attached to its equity.
A founder holding a Five Elms indication of value has one number generated by one buyer. That number can only be tested against other numbers, which is why Windsor Drake advises founders to obtain competing bids before responding to any single valuation.
How does Five Elms Capital find companies?
Five Elms runs a dedicated in-house sourcing team, and partner Ryan Mandl oversees that team according to the firm’s GrowthCap profile. Five Elms hires for roles titled “Private Equity Analyst (Sourcing)”, which makes outbound origination a formal job family at the firm rather than a side activity.
Outbound sourcing means Five Elms contacts software founders directly, often years before any sale process, to build a pipeline of companies no bank has taken to market. The commercial logic is plain. A company found through outbound has no advisor and no competing bidders, so the buyer negotiates alone against the founder.
A founder who received an unprompted email from Five Elms should read it as the output of a working outbound model, not as proof the company was singled out. Windsor Drake’s guidance for founders holding an inbound approach covers the first response in detail.
What does a Five Elms Capital approach look like?
An outbound growth equity approach typically starts with an email or call from an analyst or associate, not a partner, requesting a short introductory conversation. Early calls aim to collect revenue, growth, and retention figures. Numbers a founder shares in those calls anchor any later negotiation, because the firm logs them and prices against them.
A founder can take the meeting and still decline to share financials. Genuine interest survives that boundary. If the conversation advances, the sequence runs partner meetings, an indication of value, then a term sheet with an exclusivity request. Standard exclusivity asks run 30 to 90 days; Windsor Drake recommends conceding no more than 30 to 45.
Founders unsure whether to handle those stages alone should settle the banker question before the second call, not after a term sheet arrives.
What is life like after selling to Five Elms Capital?
Independent founder accounts of life under Five Elms ownership are scarce in the public record. What is documented: the firm staffs 17 in-house operators covering executive recruiting, finance, sales and marketing, customer success, product, and AI, per the Fund VI announcement. SuperScout’s profile also describes a portfolio peer community called Branch Out.
Deal press releases contain uniformly positive founder quotes, and a founder should treat those as marketing rather than references. Direct conversations with CEOs two or more years into a Five Elms partnership are the reliable source on what board meetings, reporting cadence, and follow-on decisions actually look like.
Who else would compete for a company Five Elms wants?
A B2B software company with $2 million to $20 million in revenue and solid retention sits in the most crowded segment of the private capital market. Growth equity competitors include Serent Capital, Radian Capital, Mainsail Partners, Level Equity, and JMI Equity. Software consolidators such as Valsoft and Volaris compete for full control of the same companies, particularly at the smaller end of the range.
That buyer density is the founder’s main asset in any negotiation with Five Elms. A firm that sources through outbound knows exactly how many rivals would bid if the company ever reached a process, and prices accordingly when no process exists.
What would a competitive process change?
Windsor Drake calls the gap between what a serial acquirer pays in an unbanked bilateral negotiation and what the same business clears in a competitive process The Proprietary Discount. Windsor Drake’s process work puts that gap at 15 to 25 percent of enterprise value. An outbound-sourced Five Elms deal is the exact situation The Proprietary Discount describes: one buyer, no reference bids, and a price built on information the founder volunteered.
A Windsor Drake sell-side process opens with a buyer universe of 150 to 300 potential acquirers, a universe that includes every firm named on this page. Competition does not mean walking away from Five Elms. Competition means Five Elms prices the company against the market instead of against silence.
Founders holding a live Five Elms approach can engage Windsor Drake’s Approach Response to run a competitive check in 4 to 6 months without losing the offer already in hand.
Questions founders ask
Is Five Elms Capital a venture capital firm or a private equity firm?
Five Elms Capital is a growth equity firm, a category between venture capital and buyout private equity. Five Elms takes both minority and majority positions in B2B software companies that already have proven revenue, typically $2 million to $20 million.
How much money does Five Elms Capital manage?
Five Elms Capital reports more than $3 billion in assets under management. Its sixth fund closed at $1.1 billion in October 2024, up from $780 million for Fund V in 2021 and $21 million for Fund I in 2007.
Why did Five Elms Capital email my company?
Five Elms runs a dedicated outbound sourcing team that contacts software founders directly, often years before any transaction. An unprompted email means the company fits a screening profile. It does not mean Five Elms has priced the business.
Does Five Elms Capital disclose what it pays?
No. Five Elms discloses check sizes in some announcements, from $23 million to $75 million in 2024 to 2026 deals, but it does not disclose valuations, revenue multiples, or ownership percentages in any public record.
Does Five Elms Capital buy 100 percent of companies?
Five Elms describes itself as flexible between minority growth investments and majority recapitalizations. Full buyouts of 100 percent are more typical of software consolidators such as Valsoft or Volaris than of Five Elms.
Should I share revenue numbers with Five Elms Capital on a first call?
No. Metrics shared early anchor any later negotiation. A founder can confirm broad ranges and withhold detail until Five Elms provides an indication of value and the founder has advice in place.
Who are Five Elms Capital’s main competitors?
Serent Capital, Mainsail Partners, Level Equity, JMI Equity, and Radian Capital pursue similar B2B software companies. Software consolidators including Valsoft and Volaris compete for control deals in the same revenue range.
Last reviewed July 28, 2026 by Jeff Barrington, Founder and Managing Director, Windsor Drake. Content on this page may be cited with attribution and a link to https://windsordrake.com/acquirers/five-elms-capital/