San Antonio · Houston, Texas

Built for the lower middle market.

We help owners buy, sell, improve, grow, and expand their businesses through integrated advisory, accounting, and investment solutions. One team. One standard. No handoffs.

BuySellImproveGrowExpand

See How We Work Our Purpose

By the Numbers

< $100M

Enterprise Value of Businesses We Support

Transactions Completed, Supported & Evaluated

$0+

Capital Touched

CPAs · Engineers · Operators

"We advise founder and family-owned businesses because we are one."

The Green Book

M&A insights for operators and owners — on Substack

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How We Deliver

Three integrated practices. Not three separate firms.

Advisory

When the stakes are high.

Selling in 12–24 months? Evaluating an acquisition? Growth creating complexity? Performance stalling?

We work alongside you across the full business lifecycle — financial, operational, commercial, and strategic — simultaneously.

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Accounting & Finance

When the numbers matter.

Financials don't tell the full story? Outgrown the finance team? A transaction approaching? Systems not supporting the business?

Operational accounting — not just books for tax season. Numbers you can trust, use, and make decisions from.

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Investments

When experience matters.

Navigating an ownership transition? Looking for the right partner? Facing a complex situation? Evaluating capital options?

Flexible capital and operational depth — from a team that has been on every side of the table.

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Advisory

We help businesses buy, sell, improve, grow, and expand.

We're not transaction advisors who only show up at the end, and we're not consultants who hand you a report and leave. We've run businesses. We do the work — financial, operational, commercial, and strategic — and we stay through execution.

How We Think About a Business

Business performance is predictable — when the pieces fit together.

We've run businesses where people, processes, systems, and numbers were disconnected — and watched performance suffer for it. When those pieces are aligned, performance becomes predictable. That's not theory. That's what we've seen, hands-on, in the seat.

People

Talent, culture, and the leadership capacity to get things done.

Operations

Processes, systems, and tools that run the way the business actually works.

Financial

Numbers that reflect reality and drive real decisions.

Planning

A clear path forward — built from experience, not guesswork.

Buy

Acquisition diligence, target assessment, and integration planning.

Sell

Exit readiness, financial packaging, and transaction guidance through close.

Improve

People, processes, systems, and tools — integrated for predictable performance.

Grow

Commercial development and operating infrastructure to scale without breaking.

Expand

New markets, capabilities, or growth through acquisition.

Initial Read

A rapid assessment of the business, challenge, opportunity, or transaction. We identify where value is being created, lost, or left unrealized.

Deep Dive

Financial, operational, commercial, organizational, and strategic assessment to understand what is driving performance.

Build the Plan

A practical roadmap tailored to the objective — whether preparing for a sale, evaluating an acquisition, improving performance, or supporting growth.

Execute

Working alongside management to implement, monitor, and deliver results through execution.

Financial Clarity

Normalized EBITDA, clean books, and a financial package that answers questions before they're asked. No surprises on either side of the table.

We Find What Others Miss

We find and fix the gaps that compress valuation or create post-close risk — before someone else uses them against you.

A Team That Stays

We don't hand off the hard parts. The same team that assessed your business is in the room when it matters most — because we've sat in the seat ourselves.

The Work in Practice

Real work. Real outcomes.

$400K/yr

Benefits Overspend Identified

Structural mismatch in a self-funded health insurance arrangement — $400K in annual overspend the client didn't know existed.

9,000+ rows

AP Ledger Reconciled Pre-Sale

Consolidated a 9,000+ row accounts payable ledger across four systems before a sale process — eliminating diligence surprises.

$200K

Disputed Claim Countered

Built the financial case that countered a $200K clawback demand from a clinical trial partner — protecting the client's net position entirely.

Accounting & Finance

Financial infrastructure for businesses that need more than bookkeeping.

We build the accounting, reporting, controls, and financial leadership layer that lets owners understand what is happening, make better decisions, and walk into diligence with confidence.

Fractional CFO

Senior financial leadership without the full-time cost. Reporting, controls, forecasting, and board prep.

Controller Services

The day-to-day financial management layer — close processes, reconciliations, and accurate books you can rely on.

Financial Cleanup

Untangling messy books, reconciling across systems, and rebuilding a financial picture you can trust.

Quality of Earnings

The QoE that holds up under buyer scrutiny — normalized earnings, working capital analysis, and a financial narrative that reflects what the business actually is.

Transaction Readiness

Diligence preparation, data room organization, and the financial packaging that gets a deal across the finish line.

ERP & Systems Cleanup

Deep expertise across SAP and major ERP platforms. We find what's broken and leave your systems in a state you can stand behind.

Reporting & Controls

Clean, consistent, decision-ready reporting. Month-end close, management accounts, and the controls growing businesses need.

Tax Compliance

We handle compliance too — but the goal is always numbers you can run your business from, not just file with.

The Financial Engine

Andy Russ

CPA

Primary delivery engine across all Ellacap engagements — financial controls, multi-entity structures, and the discipline to see every engagement through.

Dave Russ

CPA

Enterprise systems depth across SAP and major ERP platforms. Large-company forensic rigor applied to LMM engagements.

"The right financial infrastructure isn't overhead — it's the foundation everything else is built on."

Talk to Our Accounting Team

Investments

Capital with conviction — and operational depth behind it.

When Ellacap invests, we bring financial, operational, and strategic capability alongside the capital — because we've built, advised, and operated the kinds of businesses we invest in.

When We Invest

Acquisitions, recapitalizations, and investments in lower middle market businesses. We bring our own capital, partner with co-investors, and use our network to structure the right deal.

How We Operate

Hands-on and integrated. Financial controls, operational improvement, and commercial development — not just capital. We build alongside management, not over them.

Who We Work With

Founders and families navigating ownership transition, operators seeking a capital partner who understands the business, and intermediaries whose clients need a different kind of buyer.

How We Operate

The standard we hold ourselves to — every engagement, every time.

Committed, people-driven leaders.

We show up for the people behind the business, not just the business itself. Owners, employees, families — they're all in the room when we do this work.

Intentional, data-driven decision-makers.

We build the picture from the numbers up and tell you what we see — not what you want to hear. Rigorous analysis is the starting point, not a deliverable.

Empathetic, purposeful change managers.

Every business we touch represents years of someone's life. We treat every engagement with the weight it deserves.

We do things the right way.

No shortcuts. No gray areas. The work is either done right or it isn't done. That standard doesn't flex.

Trustworthy and transparent.

You'll always know where you stand with us — what we see, what we think, what we'd do if it were our business.

And we don't shy away from tough.

Why Ellacap

We've been there, done that — and saw there was a better way.

A lot of friction in the system. A lot of complex for the sake of complex. We've sat in the seat — as operators, as buyers, as the people responsible for the outcome. We built Ellacap because the work could be done differently. Less friction. Less complicated. More impact. And we chose each other to do it.

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Built by Operators

Private equity, energy infrastructure, enterprise systems, accounting, finance, and business operations. Different backgrounds. Shared accountability.

We've Sat in the Seat

We've been owners, operators, buyers, investors, and advisors. We understand the responsibility because we've carried it ourselves.

Family-Owned Perspective

We advise founder and family-owned businesses because we are one.

$8B+ in capital touched

300+ transactions completed, supported, and evaluated across private equity, energy infrastructure, and operations advisory. We know which deals work — and why.

No Handoffs

The same team that assesses your business stays through execution. We don't disappear once the work gets difficult.

The Team

Operators, CPAs, engineers, and advisors — chosen for depth, not decoration.

A senior team with decades of experience across private equity, energy infrastructure, enterprise systems, finance, operations, marketing, and business management. Hover to meet us.

Fun
Abby

Abby Russ

Founder & Managing Partner

Professional Engineer (Texas)

Former private equity and energy infrastructure executive with 16+ deals completed across energy, industrials, and manufacturing. Founded Ellacap to bring institutional-quality advisory, accounting, and investment capabilities to lower middle market businesses that are often overlooked.

Farm town roots. Apollo trained. Built Ellacap to change who gets a seat at the table.

Serious
Andy

Fun
Andy

Andy Russ

Finance & Operations

CPA

Primary financial delivery engine across all Ellacap engagements. Financial controls, multi-entity structures, and the discipline to see every engagement through.

If the numbers don't add up, Andy finds out why. Then he fixes it.

Serious
Shaun

Fun
Shaun

Shaun

Value Creation Advisor

Operating Advisor

Commercial, organizational, and operational depth deployed where it's needed most. Rounds out Ellacap's value creation practice.

Focused, methodical, and uncommonly good at finding the thing nobody else wanted to say.

Serious
Link

Fun
Link

Link Moser

Marketing & Pipeline

SMB Growth · Business Development

Drives Ellacap's marketing strategy and SMB pipeline. Keeps the firm visible, relationships warm, and the front door open for the right clients.

If Ellacap is on your radar, Link probably had something to do with it.

Serious
Justin

Fun
Justin

Justin

Value Creation Advisor

Operating Advisor

Senior operator focused on commercial, organizational, and operational value creation. Closes the gap between where businesses are and what they're worth.

Sees the operational picture clearly — and knows exactly which levers to pull.

Serious
Rebeca

Fun
Rebeca

Rebeca

Operations & Administration

Admin · Bookkeeping

The operational backbone of Ellacap's day-to-day. Keeps the firm running with precision so the rest of the team can focus on the work that matters.

Nothing falls through the cracks when Rebeca is on it. Nothing.

Serious
Dave

Fun
Dave

Dave Russ

Financial Systems & Diligence

CPA

Enterprise systems depth across SAP and major ERP platforms. Large-company forensic rigor applied to LMM engagements — finds what others miss.

If it's buried in the system, Dave will find it. Usually before anyone else knew to look.

Serious
Bryan

Fun
Bryan

Bryan

Value Creation Advisor

Operating Advisor

Depth in people, process, and performance improvement. Brings the bench strength that lets Ellacap run parallel engagements without compromise.

The person you want in the room when a business needs to move — and move fast.

"We're not a firm of strangers who met at a conference. We chose to build this together — and that accountability runs through everything we do."

What People Say

From the people who've worked alongside us.

In all the years of doing this, Ellacap was the first group to actually care about what happens to my business.

Former Owner · Lower Middle Market Industrial Business

Abby's patience and strategic foresight allow her to cut through the noise. Her passion for the mission wins respect and buy-in from all stakeholders — proving essential for successful deal closure.

Managing Director · Lower Middle Market M&A Advisory

It's rare to find a partner who adds both 'smart' and 'capital' to a deal. Abby differentiated herself by demonstrating a deep understanding of our business and articulating a compelling, realistic plan.

Seller · Founder-Owned Services Business

Abby is one of the most capable people I know. She earned her P.E. and completed her MBA at Chicago Booth while working full-time. She views leadership as serving others — I cannot imagine a better Managing Partner.

Mentor · Former ExxonMobil Leadership Team

Why We Built This

The reason Ellacap exists.

We grew up in working class communities. Farm towns. Places where hard work was the culture and ambition was everywhere — but sophisticated financial counsel was not. Where business owners built real things with real value, and too often walked away with less than they deserved because no one in their corner understood what they had.

We know those communities because we are from those communities.

Our purpose is simple: make sure that changes. Protect what owners build. Make sure the value they create doesn't walk out the door when they do — and make sure it flows back into the families, businesses, and communities that need it most.

That's why this team — family by marriage and by choice — decided to do this work together. Not just to do good deals. To do right by the people behind them. If that resonates, we'd like to meet you.

Communities that produce remarkable businesses and remarkable owners who deserve the same quality of counsel that larger markets take for granted.

Preservation

Protecting what owners built — making sure value doesn't walk out the door, and that exits happen on the owner's terms.

Circulation

Keeping wealth moving — back into communities, families, and businesses that create jobs and build futures.

Access

Bringing institutional-quality advisory to markets that have never had it — because those businesses deserve the same standard everyone else takes for granted.

Partnership Model

We partner where it makes the work better.

Investment Banks & Intermediaries

We bring prepared clients with clean financials and realistic expectations. You run the regulated process. Fewer surprises. Cleaner closes.

Financial Institutions

For clients navigating a sale or transition — we're the team you refer when they need to get their house in order first.

Wealth Advisors

When your client is thinking about what's next, we work alongside you — doing the heavy lifting while protecting the relationship you've built.

Contact

Let's talk about your business.

We respond to every inquiry personally. Tell us where you are and what you're working on.

hello@ellacap.com

Phone

+1 (210) 759-2110

Location

San Antonio · Houston, Texas

linkedin.com/company/ellacap

Investor Access

Existing investors and partners.

Access your investor portal through Ellacquire — our proprietary M&A sourcing and execution platform.

Built for the lower middle market.

When the stakes are high.

When the numbers matter.

When experience matters.

Most advisors work in silos.

We help businesses buy, sell, improve, grow, and expand.

Business performance is predictable — when the pieces fit together.

Real work. Real outcomes.

Financial infrastructure for businesses that need more than bookkeeping.

Capital with conviction — and operational depth behind it.

When We Invest

How We Operate

Who We Work With

The standard we hold ourselves to — every engagement, every time.

We've been there, done that — and saw there was a better way.

Operators, CPAs, engineers, and advisors — chosen for depth, not decoration.

From the people who've worked alongside us.

The reason Ellacap exists.

M&A insights for operators and owners.

We partner where it makes the work better.

Wherever you are in the journey — we'd like to meet you.

Let's talk about your business.

Existing investors and partners.

The Green Book on Substack.