Will Hausberg, Doug Rosenstein, and Brad Skaf spent a decade investing together before founding Uplift, working together not on some investments, not on most, but on every investment that shaped the firm's investment philosophy. Sourcing, underwriting, portfolio management, exit. That kind of shared history across a full investment cycle is rare and creates a foundation of implicit trust within the partnership.
But, Uplift was never just three people raising a fund. We built the team before we had capital to deploy, so the firm arrived ready to work on day one. From the start, we paired investors who specialize in services with functional C-suite leaders whose expertise aligns with the business models we invest behind. Everyone on this team had a hand in getting us here.
A framework, not a sector bet.
Most private equity firms pick sectors and stop there. We start there too, with deep expertise across five services sectors: knowledge & talent solutions, legal services, technical trades, financial services, and industrial services. Then we ask a second question: what business model does this company operate? Dual-sided network, functional outsourcing, professional services, route-based services, or information services?
That intersection creates what we call a micro-sector. We underwrite every micro-sector through the lens of five Value Creation Centers: technology, data and AI enablement; go-to-market excellence; talent acquisition and optimization; organizational design and team development; and M&A and integration.
Together, that's our 5-5-5 Framework: our way of narrowing the opportunity set until business model pattern recognition becomes our edge.
Proof, not theory.
Here's what that looks like in practice. Legal services isn't a single investment category. It's an ecosystem of different business models. IMS Legal Strategies is a dual-sided network with a technology enablement thesis. Orion Legal MSO is a professional services business built around supporting law firm operations more effectively. Same sector. Different business models. Different value creation playbooks.
We get that because we've seen these business models before.
Capital's already moving: two investments closed, a third platform signed, on our way to six total for the fund.
“The difference with Uplift wasn't that they knew our industry. It was that they understood how our business works. That changed the conversation from diligence to strategy almost immediately. Their approach reflects years of learning and best practices brought together in a very authentic way.”
James Crane, CEO – IMS Legal Strategies