Lewis & Clark Capital

What Lewis & Clark Capital does

Lewis & Clark Capital is a St. Louis-based family-office private equity firm founded in 2001 by Managing Partner Tom Hillman, investing the partner's own capital into privately owned and family businesses, typically with revenues up to $100M and EBITDA up to $5M. The firm positions itself as an "operator-investor" rather than a financial buyer, with a team composed of former CEOs, operators, and entrepreneurs who provide hands-on support through inflection points. Target sectors include Industrials, Business Services, B2B Software, and Hospitality, with active US and selective UK exposure. The firm's investment model centers on control acquisitions and select minority positions, supported by an in-house shared services team covering finance, HR, IT, legal, and compliance that is made available across portfolio companies.

The operating portfolio spans multiple sectors and is organized both as standalone platforms and emerging roll-ups. SureCam (majority-owned since 2017) provides connected dashcams and video telematics to commercial fleets in North America and raised a $36M Series B plus debt facility in 2025. CMS LLC, PCI Manufacturing, and ChemRite CoPac (acquired 2023 and 2024) form a liquid contract manufacturing platform serving HI&I, Home and Garden, and Specialty Pet brands from FDA-registered facilities. FTL Finance provides home improvement financing to contractors and homeowners. Gastronauts aggregates St. Louis fast-casual restaurant brands including Hi-Pointe Drive-In, Chicken Out, and Taco Buddha. In 2026 the firm launched AirCore Environmental through simultaneous acquisitions of Radon Mitigation Services and Radon Professional Services, creating a commercial radon mitigation platform in the Southeastern US with a stated add-on acquisition strategy. Previously exited positions include Automation Service and Ovation Holdings (2023) and the firm cites a prior near-$1B exit in Answers.com.

The firm generates revenue indirectly through the operating performance and exits of its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries; it does not charge external limited-partner management fees. Differentiators cited in the data include 25 years of investing history, over 100 facilitated transactions, and a people-first philosophy combined with operator-grade shared services that allow portfolio companies to scale without immediately building internal back-office functions. The firm has approximately 12 team members and reports no public revenue.

Name

Lewis & Clark Capital

Legal name

Lewis & Clark Capital, LLC

Website

https://lewisandclarkcapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lewis & Clark Capital is a St. Louis-based family-office private equity firm founded in 2001 that invests Managing Partner Tom Hillman's capital into US privately owned and family businesses with up to $100M revenue and $5M EBITDA across Industrials, Business Services, B2B Software, and Hospitality, operating as a hands-on operator-investor with shared back-office services for its portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Office Investment Platforms & Direct Investing (PE/VC/Co-Invest) (FSAAADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business Services (B2B) Growth Equity (FSANACAD), Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE)

Keywords

• Private equity investing
• Family office capital
• Lower middle market
• Operator investment model
• Business services investment

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Private Equity Returns: Returns generated through portfolio company performance and successful exits. The firm has facilitated over 100 transactions and has had multiple successful exits including Answers.com (nearly $1B exit).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Lewis & Clark Capital is a family-office private equity firm that makes control investments and select minority investments in privately owned and family businesses with revenues up to $100 million and EBITDA up to $5 million, focused on Industrials, Business Services, B2B Software, and Hospitality sectors. Beyond capital, the firm delivers hands-on operational support through an in-house shared services team covering accounting, HR, IT, legal, finance, and recruiting functions for its portfolio companies.

Product overview

Lewis & Clark Capital is a family-office private equity firm that operates as an operator-investor, guiding leaders through business inflection points. The firm does not offer a single unified product but rather provides investment capital and operational expertise to a portfolio of companies across multiple sectors. The portfolio includes: AirCore Environmental (indoor air quality/radon mitigation platform), SureCam (connected dashcam/fleet technology), FTL Finance (home improvement financing fintech), PCI Manufacturing and CMS LLC/ChemRite Co-Pac (contract manufacturing of liquid products), and hospitality brands including Hi-Pointe Drive-In, Chicken Out, Taco Buddha, and Gastronauts. The firm also previously exited positions in Automation Service and Ovation Holdings (industrial flow control).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• SureCam achieved 4x more vehicles covered and 100x increase in gross margins under Lewis & Clark partnership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Radon Professional ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Acquired to form AirCore Environmental platform - provider of radon testing and mitigation services based in Jacksonville, FL. Part of Lewis & Clark's strategy to build a regional consolidation platform in indoor air quality.
• ChemRite CoPaccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2025Wisconsin-based full-service contract manufacturer acquired by portfolio company CMS LLC. Acquisition expands CMS's formulation, blending, and packaging capabilities with FDA-registered facilities.
• Radon Mitigation ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Acquired to form AirCore Environmental platform - commercial radon testing and mitigation services provider based in Fort Myers, FL. Existing management team remained in place as part of the acquisition.
• SureCam (UK Founders)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017UK-based dashcam company founders sought Lewis & Clark Capital's guidance and capital for US market expansion. Lewis & Clark recognized value in the data and helped build entire North American team and grow book of business.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Five Elms Capital: Growth-oriented lower-middle-market PE firm based in Kansas City that invests in B2B software and services companies, similar in stage and check size to Lewis & Clark Capital's typical deal profile. A Lewis & Clark Principal previously served as Head of Capital Markets at Five Elms.
• Waud Capital Partners: Lower-middle-market private equity firm based in Chicago that invests in business services, healthcare, and industrial companies with similar operator-led thesis. Geographic proximity and shared Midwest focus make it directly comparable.
• Sun Capital Partners: Operationally-focused middle-market PE firm investing in consumer products, restaurants, manufacturing, and business services — overlapping several Lewis & Clark portfolio verticals including HI&I manufacturing and QSR brands.
• Advantage Capital: Lower-middle-market PE firm investing in growth-stage companies across diverse industries, headquartered in St. Louis with similar geographic roots to Lewis & Clark Capital. A Lewis & Clark Principal previously worked at Advantage Capital.
• Blackford Capital: Lower-middle-market PE firm focused on buy-and-build acquisitions of small operating companies, with a thesis closely aligned to Lewis & Clark's platform-building approach. Often partners with operators and targets similar EBITDA ranges.
• M33 Growth: Operator-led growth equity firm investing in lower-middle-market B2B SaaS and tech-enabled services, comparable in check size and operator-investor philosophy to Lewis & Clark's B2B software exposure.
• Kinderhook Industries: Lower-middle-market PE firm executing a roll-up/add-on acquisition strategy in fragmented industries such as environmental services and contract manufacturing — directly comparable to Lewis & Clark's AirCore and CMS/PCI/ChemRite platform plays.
• Cressey & Company: Healthcare-focused lower-middle-market PE firm with an operator-partner model and targeted EBITDA ranges similar to Lewis & Clark. Comparable in fund structure and emphasis on operating value creation rather than pure financial engineering.

Broad incumbents

• H.I.G. Capital: Large global alternative investment firm with significant lower-middle-market PE activity across multiple sectors, including manufacturing, services, and consumer. Operates as a broader incumbent with more capital and a wider mandate than Lewis & Clark's family-office structure.

Regional players

• Lewis & Clark Ventures: Affiliated seed-stage venture fund under the Lewis & Clark Holdings umbrella, focused on technology investments. Sister entity to Lewis & Clark Capital but operates in an earlier-stage, venture-style mandate rather than buyout/control.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lewis-and-clark-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A4 records

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lewis & Clark Capital