Chad Anselmo
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Hey Chad — similar-ish path (IB → PE), though I went the London route (CS & Greenhill → growth equity). been thinking a lot about proprietary origination in lower-middle-market services lately. would be good to connect.
Hey Chad, similar finance-to-PE background, though I was in London at CS & Greenhill not building a holdco in the trades like you. origination was always the same story for me — clear thesis, decent relationships, but no proprietary system of record tying anything together. every deal virtually sourced from scratch, nothing compounding over time. curious if that's still how most funds operate or if I'm behind the times? — Russ
Hey Chad, looks like we share a similar finance-to-PE path, though I was in London doing growth equity deals at Greenhill and Treis not in Texas building a holdco and buying plumbing companies like you. the pattern I keep seeing with most funds is weirdly consistent — strong thesis, solid network, but no proprietary system of record. the people, tools and ideas are never really connected, so every deal is virtually sourced from scratch. nothing compounds on itself. curious if that resonates or if you've built something different at Lionshield? — Russ
hey Chad — no worries if the timing's off. most funds I talk to have tried some version of building origination in-house — analyst pulling from Pitchbook or Grata, maybe using ChatGPT to help qualify, dumping it into a spreadsheet. each piece kind of works, but there's no system of record tying it together. the people, tools and ideas are all disconnected, so there's tonnes of wasted energy. been helping a fund like Mentmore work through that exact thing. curious if you've run into the same at Lionshield? — Russ
totally get it if origination infrastructure isn't top of mind right now — most funds have 10 things ahead of it on the priority list. the funds I've seen crack it early just tend to compound deal flow in a way that's hard to replicate later. if it ever moves up the list, I'm easy to find. — Russ
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Chad - Getting your plumber's license after acquiring a plumbing company — that's commitment. Most hold co guys stay far from the operations. Started at Credit Suisse doing tech M&A, then growth equity. Now I build deal sourcing systems for funds acquiring family-owned businesses. Custom origination engine around your thesis — connects your CRM, LinkedIn, and email, layers on AI screening and battle-tested outreach logic. Meetings in your calendar, not lists to grind through. Working with Axiom Equity in the UK and a few US search funds. Worth a quick call? searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
Chad - Most cold outreach to family business owners lands in spam. The infrastructure matters more than the message. Built proper deliverability into our systems specifically because 100% family-owned founders are harder to reach — they're not checking LinkedIn daily. Happy to walk through how we're solving this for similar hold cos. Russ
Chad - Seeing solid results with funds targeting the same $10-75M EV range you're after. Axiom in the UK plus a handful of US searchers are booking 15-20 qualified conversations monthly. Different from AI agencies — this is intelligent automation you own. Worth 15 minutes? Russ
Chad - Know you're busy building platforms and apparently fixing pipes. If sourcing family-owned deals becomes a bottleneck, happy to chat whenever. Russ
Prospect Research
## PROSPECT INFORMATION: Name: Chad Anselmo Title: Managing Partner Fund: Lionshield Background: PROSPECT SUMMARY: Chad Anselmo CURRENT FOCUS: Chad is currently a Managing Partner at Lionshield, a long-term holding company focused on the lower middle market and commercial services in Texas. He is also the President of Videre Cras, an investment vehicle with a diverse portfolio. Recently, he has significantly diversified his interests beyond his long-standing career in Fintech into the "Trades," specifically acquiring a 225-person plumbing company in 2024 and personally obtaining a Plumber’s Apprentice license to better understand the industry. BACKGROUND: He is a results-focused executive with extensive experience in the payments and financial services sectors. He previously served as CEO and CFO of Corvia (formerly F1 Payments), where he led the company to significant growth and rankings on the Inc. 5000 and Best Places to Work lists. His prior career includes high-level finance roles at Paysafe Group, Experian, Ascent Media Group, and Universal Studios Hollywood. He holds an MBA and a BS in Finance from the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, where he remains active as a Board of Advisors member. KEY SKILLS: Executive Leadership, M&A (participated in over a dozen transactions), Strategic Financial Planning, Operational Leadership, Fintech, Private Equity, and Investment Strategy. NOTABLE POSTS & QUOTES: January 8, 2026: Chad celebrated team growth at one of his recent acquisitions, stating, "Beyond excited to be growing the team with a couple fantastic additions! Welcome guys!" November 5, 2025: Sharing a superhero-themed deck from the Main Street Summit, he noted, "Didn’t have Super Hero on the Bingo Card but Rand Larsen made this deck and I couldn’t help but share..." November 4, 2025: Regarding his participation in the Main Street Summit, he posted: "I'll be speaking in the Construction Track on how to optimize your working capital stack." July 9, 2024: Announcing his move into manual trades, he wrote: "I'm hearing that the 'Trades' are all the rage, go I decided to get my plumbers License! ... Here's to building the next big thing!" April 4, 2024: On the adoption of his son, Chad used a business metaphor: "We were able to take a product that was a Joint Venture from a passive investor and fully acquire the asset... In laymen's terms, we are so excited to have Gio... part of our family!" March 26, 2024: Announcing a major pivot: "After deciding that we needed to diversify our portfolio away from Fintech, we bought a plumbing company... We bought a 225 person plumbing company that operates from Dallas to San Antonio." December 4, 2023: On his personal philosophy: "I am not a title... That was the time I decided to change my title to things I wanted to be known for... Husband, Adventurer, Father, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist." November 14, 2023: Encouraging entrepreneurship: "If you love our country, go start a company. ... Higher taxes (bad), austerity cuts (mildly better) and productivity (which is best)." June 12, 2023: Upon receiving a Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the University of Utah, he remarked: "Super humbled to awarded alongside Kathi Garff, James Jackson, III, MBA, and our schools chairwoman Anne Taylor." Fund details: - Description: Lionshield is a holding company that invests in and partners with 100% family-owned businesses in North America. The firm seeks lower-middle-market opportunities to invest in, creating super-regional and national platforms by leveraging its expertise in mergers & acquisitions, profit center integration, and digital marketing to drive performance. The company looks for platform opportunities to invest in with enterprise values between $10M and $75M, and EBITDA between $1M and $10M. - Website: https://www.lionshield.com - Location: Austin, Texas, United States - Lead qualification: Research: - Query: =Lionshield Chad Anselmo recent investments fund thesis - Answer: Chad Anselmo recently led Lionshield's acquisition of MJ Mechanical, expanding its market presence in Texas. He emphasizes flexibility in exit strategies for business owners. Lionshield focuses on nurturing and expanding family-owned businesses.