We turn values into victories
Together, we transform growing companies through hard work, collaborative partnerships grounded in a shared vision, and repeatable, tested processes to generate long-term value.
A Thoughtful Growth Strategy
Whether we’re partnering with a business services, consumer products and services, or industrial growth company, we fuel growth by leveraging a combination of operating expertise, financial resources, and strategic planning and execution. We provide a rich platform of tools, resources, and tried-and-true methods for success so that you can make your next move with confidence and conviction.
Every business has growth opportunities – many of them. We utilize a structured process personalized for your unique situation to prioritize growth strategies that will move the needle for your business.
Sector Focus
Gridiron’s Thematic Areas of Expertise is a guiding investment approach that enables our team to hone in on the sub-sectors and business profiles that best fit the firm’s expertise. Designed as a template with repeatable proceses, we’re able to repeatedly identify, highlight, screen, and nurture relationships with prospective companies. This investment strategy empowers Gridiron to focus its specialized sector knowledge to expedite growth.
Investment Criteria
Sectors
Business Services
Consumer Products & Services
Industrial Growth
Enterprise Value
$150+ million
No minimum for add-on acquisitions
Targeted Equity Investment
$100+ million
Transaction Types
Buyouts
Founder Recapitalizations
Corporate Divestitures
Key Platform Attributes
Motivated and Experienced Management Team
Sustainable Market Leadership
High Free Cashflow Conversion
High-Value Product or Service
Geography
North America for platform investments
Global for add-on acquisitions
How We Win
Winning Together Culture
We value those who play as a team and earn their victories through hard work, commitment, and determination. We’ve found the best results come from working with businesses that align with our principles. We have the highest respect for the cultures founders and management teams have created. Acting as an extension of your team, we work with you to grow your business. We don’t just invest in businesses; we invest in people.
Gridiron Playbook
At Gridiron, we strive to get better every day. Over the course of 20 years and 5 funds, we’ve internalized valuable lessons, implemented innovative strategies, and honed a unique in-house framework that drives consistent, powerful results. The combination of our culture, operational experience, and network of relationships has produced a consistent and proven investment philosophy and collection of repeatable processes we refer to as the Gridiron Playbook.
Centers of Excellence
We have developed Centers of Excellence that include best practice processes, ideas, and resources, available to management teams to use to execute the company’s bespoke vision and strategy. These tools and resources also include real hands-on experience from our extended Gridiron team of Operating Partners, Board of Business Executives™, and portfolio company leadership teams.
Our Work Speaks for Itself
Foundation Wellness is a category leading manufacturer of branded and private label wellness solutions. Upon partnering with Gridiron in 2019, the team recognized key opportunities for growth through digital transformation, branded sales expansion, and operational refinements.
Leveraging Gridiron’s Centers of Excellence, we drove transformation across talent development, digital acceleration, and operational excellence. As a result, branded sales grew from 40% of revenue to 79% of total sales at the exit thanks to diversification of distribution channels. The Digital Accelerator team also helped establish robust metrics and processes, achieving consistent return on ad spend above 3.5x.
Branded sales grew from 40% to 79% of total sales at exit
In 2020, Gridiron partnered with GSM Outdoors, a leader in the enthusiast sportsman and rugged outdoor industry. GSM's strong brand portfolio and customer-focused approach provided a solid foundation for expanding into new markets while enhancing customer engagement through digital capabilities.
The success of our partnership is rooted in our relationship-driven approach and cultural alignment with GSM's "In it to win it" philosophy. Through the partnership with Gridiron, GSM more than doubled in size and profitability, completed 18 acquisitions and expanded into new outdoor categories. We also guided GSM through the development of a digital platform serving more than 5 million users.
Since 2020, GSM has doubled in size and profitability
Our approach to growth is so much more than a playbook that outlines what to do – we bring a Winning Together culture, strategic mindset, and a full team with specific areas of expertise in business development. When all of this comes together in one partnership, transformative growth happens.
For each portfolio company, we do our homework before the partnership even begins – we dig deep into their specific industries to understand the breadth of their market potential and identify strategic priorities that would help us achieve our shared vision. This could include financial goals, operational metrics, sales and marketing goals, digital expansion, and team goals. Learn more about our framework and processes through our partnerships with Health Monitor and GarageCo.
"Gridiron brought us not only a playbook, but the people that go with it"
Latest
News
We’re never stagnant – always improving, refining, and adapting our existing strategies and processes to better position ourselves in a constantly evolving market. Discover our latest news and insights to find out where we think the industry is headed.
