Black Lake Capital

What Black Lake Capital does

Black Lake Capital is a private equity firm and family office founded in 2013 and headquartered in Evergreen, Colorado, with an additional Denver contact point. The firm invests own capital alongside a trusted network of co-investors into majority and substantial minority equity recapitalizations of middle-market technology and innovation-enabled businesses in the United States and Canada that have at least $2M in EBITDA and $8M in revenue and are cash-flow positive. Its stated investment model is founder-centric: the firm positions itself as hands-off with respect to company vision and culture, commits to retaining management teams post-close, and structures transactions so that founders share in second-bite liquidity outcomes.

The firm's underlying offering to portfolio companies is flexible growth capital combined with operating systems, metrics, and strategic support, rather than technology products of its own. Since inception it has completed approximately 15 technology transactions spanning cybersecurity (Set Solutions, Trapp Technology / ArmorPoint), supply chain services (Spinnaker SCA), Salesforce and digital transformation consulting (A5 Corporation), software development and process automation (Macrosoft / Innovatix), and industrial manufacturing (OMCO SUMO). Disclosed portfolio outcomes include 10x+ cash-on-cash realized returns on exited investments, more than $50M returned to founders via second-bite liquidity events, zero management positions eliminated across portfolio transactions, and Set Solutions growing approximately five-fold in five years to roughly $175M in annual revenue prior to exit.

Revenue is generated through carried interest on profitable exits and through the family office capital base, with no public pricing model or consumer-facing offering. Distribution is direct: the firm engages founders and intermediaries such as TM Capital, SDR Partners, Third Century Partners, and Source Capital through relationship sourcing rather than institutional fundraising. The leadership team is led by Managing Partner Charles (Chad) Scripps (Wharton MBA, prior roles at HIG Capital, AEA Investors, and McKinsey) and Partner Aaron Nack (founder of AHEAD, which scaled from startup to over $1B in revenue), supported by an advisory board of former operating CEOs and CFOs.

Name

Black Lake Capital

Legal name

Black Lake Capital

Website

https://blacklakecap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Black Lake Capital is a private equity firm and family office founded in 2013 and based in Evergreen, Colorado. The firm invests own capital in majority and minority equity recapitalizations of middle-market US and Canadian technology companies with at least $2M EBITDA and $8M revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity / Middle-Market Technology Investing

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Small-Cap / Micro-Buyout (FSANABAD)

Keywords

• Private equity investment
• Middle-market technology
• Equity recapitalization
• Technology buyouts
• Growth capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Evergreen

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Carried Interest from Investment Returns: Earns carried interest on investment returns when portfolio companies are exited profitably. Has generated 10x+ cash-on-cash returns on exited investments.
2. Investment Management: Operates as a family office with own capital and trusted network of investors. Generates returns through successful exits of portfolio companies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Black Lake Capital is a family office private equity firm that invests in majority and substantial minority equity recapitalizations of middle-market technology and innovation-enabled businesses across the US and Canada. The firm targets companies with $2M+ EBITDA and $8M+ revenue that are cash-flow positive, providing flexible capital, strategic systems, metrics, and operational guidance while preserving founder leadership and company culture.

Product overview

Black Lake Capital is a private equity and investment firm focused on technology and innovation-enabled businesses. The firm invests in majority and substantial minority equity recapitalizations in middle-market technology companies with $2M+ in EBITDA and $8M+ in revenue. Black Lake Capital provides flexible capital and strategic expertise to portfolio companies rather than operating a product or service business itself. The portfolio includes companies such as A5 Corporation (Salesforce consulting and digital solutions), Macrosoft (process automation, AI services, staffing), OMCO SUMO (bearing and motion component manufacturing), Trapp Technology (cybersecurity), and Set Solutions (network security).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Majority Equity Recapitalization Majority equity recapitalization investments in middle-market technology and innovation-enabled businesses with $2M+ EBITDA and $8M+ revenue that are cash-flow positive, primarily in the US and Canada. Intended for founders and management teams seeking flexible capital and a hands-off, culture-preserving partner.
• Substantial Minority Equity Recapitalization Substantial minority equity recapitalization investments providing founders partial liquidity and growth capital while retaining majority founder control. Targets middle-market technology and innovation-enabled businesses across the US and Canada with $2M+ EBITDA and $8M+ revenue.
• Management Buyout Investment Management buyout and business leadership transition investments for middle-market technology and innovation-enabled businesses across the US and Canada, supporting founders and management teams through ownership transitions with flexible capital and operating support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15 tech transactions completed since 2013
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• McKinsey & CompanyminorOthersPrior employer of Managing Partner Charles Scripps. Chad began his career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. This represents career history rather than an active business partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lightyear Capital: Private equity firm focused on financial services and tech-enabled services. Comparable as a middle-market tech/services investor with a similar founder-friendly partnership model.
• Frontier Capital: Tech-enabled services growth equity firm investing in founder-led businesses with $5-50M revenue. Comparable directly on thesis (cash-flow positive tech-enabled, founder-friendly) and target-company profile (similar mid-cap EBITDA range).
• JMI Equity: Growth equity firm focused on enterprise software and tech-enabled services. Comparable as a more scaled peer also investing in tech-enabled middle-market companies, though typically at larger check sizes than Black Lake.
• Periscope Equity: Tech-enabled services and software PE firm investing in lower middle-market founder/owner-operated companies. Directly comparable on thesis (tech-enabled services, founder-friendly, sub-control recaps at $5-50M revenue).
• M33 Growth: Tech-focused growth equity firm partnering with bootstrapped, founder-led software and tech-enabled services companies. Directly comparable on sub-control recaps, founder-first approach, and middle-market tech deal size.
• Mainsail Partners: Lower middle-market growth equity firm focused exclusively on bootstrapped technology companies. Highly comparable to Black Lake's thesis (founder-friendly, $2M+ EBITDA tech targets, minority/majority recapitalizations) with similar deal-size range.
• WestView Capital Partners: Boston-based growth equity firm partnering with bootstrapped, founder-led tech and tech-enabled services businesses. Comparable on founder-first philosophy, control/majority recap structure, and middle-market tech target profile.

Emerging players

• RedBird Capital Partners: Investment firm with growing focus on founder-led, tech-enabled businesses and growth equity. Overlaps with Black Lake on tech-enabled middle-market thesis but at slightly larger scale and broader mandate including sports/media.
• Clarity Insights: Tech-services-focused PE-backed roll-up of data/analytics consulting. Comparable as a Black Lake portfolio-company analog rather than a direct PE competitor; useful for comparable services-market positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Thoma Bravo: Large-scale software/tech take-private specialist managing $130B+. Adjacent incumbent operating in the same tech PE category but at materially larger check sizes and broader portfolio; included as a market-structure reference for the tech PE category Black Lake competes in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blacklakecap

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments3 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Black Lake Capital