Eliot Kerlin and Broadwing: Principles over Playbooks

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Mar 10, 2026

Eliot Kerlin, Founder and Managing Partner of Broadwing Capital with 25 years in lower middle market private equity, shares his perspective. He discusses how market definitions, fund sizes, and deal economics have shifted. He explores the rise of operationally-focused investing, new buyer pathways like independent sponsors and family offices, and Broadwing’s sector strategy including the CloudScale 365 acquisition.

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INSIGHT

Operational Private Equity Became The Norm

Private equity grew from finance-focused deals to specialized operational PE with dedicated operating partners and functional experts.
Firms now hire specialists in lean, HR, marketing, and cyber to deliver hands-on value creation across portfolios.

INSIGHT

Selling Now Reaches Buyers Through Many Digital Channels

Sell-side channels multiplied: digital marketplaces, independent sponsors, and more advisors created continuous inbound to sellers.
Transactions shifted from personal networks and accountants to many curated digital and brokered channels.

INSIGHT

Family Offices Grew Into Strategic Private Equity Partners

Family offices are now major, flexible capital partners providing LP backing, co-invests, or direct deals.
They bring operator experience and can club up or create funds, diversifying private equity's capital base.

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Today’s guest is Eliot Kerlin, Founder and Managing Partner of Broadwing Capital. With 25 years of experience in the lower middle market, Eliot reflects on how the ecosystem has evolved—from fund sizes and leverage trends to seller sophistication and the rise of independent sponsors and family offices. He shares how underwriting, equity contributions, and operational involvement have changed, and why operational alignment from the start is a prerequisite to growth. The conversation closes with Broadwing’s investment philosophy, its approach to founder alignment post-transaction, and a look into their recent acquisition of CloudScale 365.

Discussion Points:

Fund size expansion and the shifting definition of “middle market”
Rising purchase multiples, increasing equity contributions, and their implications
The growth of “operational private equity” and specialization
How sell-side advisory channels have expanded and digitized
The rise of independent sponsors and new buyer pathways
Family offices as capital partners in private equity
Broadwing’s investment strategy and focus on skilled trades, manufacturing, and services
Organic growth versus acquisition-led growth
Evaluating management teams and cultural fit
Stakeholder impact planning and employee investment initiatives
Founder alignment and setting post-transaction expectations
The acquisition thesis behind CloudScale 365
AI as both an operational tool and a client advisory opportunity
Balancing playbooks with the uniqueness of each company

Masters in Small Business M&A is produced by its host Peter Lehrman and the team at Axial (www.axial.com). Axial makes it easy for small business owners to confidentially explore growth capital and exit transactions with top-ranked lower middle market M&A advisors and professional capital partners. In every episode, we explore the dynamic world of small business M&A, interviewing a mix of proven and emerging owners, operators, acquirers, and M&A advisors whose strategies and methods are being put to the test.

If you’d like to go deeper, head to Axial.com, where we make available the Axial member directories, downloadable tools for dealmakers, the Axial quarterly lower middle market investment banking league-table rankings, the SMB M&A pipeline report, and other useful information. If you’re a business owner, professional acquirer, or M&A advisor, you can start using Axial for free at Axial.com.