Strategies / Private Equity - Ascend

Ascend

THEMATIC PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTING FOCUSED ON ACCELERATING GROWTH IN THE LOWER MIDDLE-MARKET

The Harvest Ascend strategy leverages extensive investment experience across the Business and Technology Services sectors to partner with differentiated platforms within the lower-middle market.

The experienced Ascend team applies a sector-first approach while seeking to partner with businesses that enable organizational scalability and business productivity, ensure compliance and provide insights for growth.

Strategy Tearsheet
*As of December 31, 2024
2023
Inception
20+
Years that co-heads
have worked together
6
Dedicated Employees

Harvest Ascend seeks to invest in tech-enabled services businesses offering a strong core value proposition and mission-critical solution in large, fragmented and growing markets.

Investment
Criteria

Geographic Focus

North America

EBITDA

~$10 million to < $30 million

Equity Investments

$50 million – $200 million

Business and Technology Services

Human Capital
Management
  • Talent Acquisition and Onboarding
  • Workforce Management and Development
  • HR Administration and Outsourcing
Data and
Technology
Services
  • Business Intelligence and Workflow Tools
  • Customer Engagement Solutions
  • IT Services and Digital Transformation
Compliance
Services
  • Governance, Risk Management and Compliance
  • Certification and Training
  • Testing and Assessment
Professional
Services
  • Corporate, Financial and Insurance
  • Healthcare Services
  • Specialty Consulting

Ascend
Escalate
Strategy

The Ascend Escalate Strategy guides post-closing value-creation strategies by emphasizing three key transformational phases:

  • Invest in incremental C-level positions
  • Drive employee engagement and incentives
  • Collaboration with highly relevant independent board members
  • Sales and go-to-market strategy
  • Sales organization
  • Sales tools and reporting
  • Client upsell and retention
  • Product development and pricing
  • Market mapping during diligence
  • Strategic expansion into new solutions, geographies, adjacent verticals
  • Tuck-ins plus transformational M&A
  • Detailed integration planning
Team
Portfolio