One-Pager
Moats without castles
Chroma is a private investment firm founded by Ravi Patel, Zach Albertson, and Jake Bloom. We buy overlooked yet excellent companies — businesses with the foundations of long-term success, but without a material, built legacy. Their durable cash flows are based on highly defensible, monopoly-like traits, customer trust, and a strong niche, but have never benefitted from modern data, systems, or design, nor professionalized management. We invest one company at a time, alongside committed capital partners who are aligned to each business alongside us.
In other words, at Chroma, we look for moats without castles. Our skillset is to take well-laid foundations and build businesses that are instantly perceptible as eminent leaders in their category.
What we look for
Financial profile
- $1–6M of EBITDA (enterprise value roughly $5M–$50M)
- History of consistent profitability and cash generation; 7+ years operating preferred
- Healthy margins for the industry; low capital intensity preferred
Business characteristics
- B2B niche leaders: specialty manufacturing, distribution, testing/inspection/certification, industrial and business services, specialty and route-based services, vertical software resellers
- Recurring or highly repeat revenue; customer relationships measured in years, not orders
- A real reason customers stay: certification, reputation, switching costs, specialized capability
- Owner approaching a transition: retirement, succession, or simply ready for a partner
What we offer sellers
A fair, direct process. We negotiate one-on-one, move quickly, and do our diligence onsite. We are not financial-only operators. We don't do auctions, and do not build retrades into our model.
Upfront and consistent. We are upfront before signing and consistent throughout our process. We'll tell you exactly what we intend to do, keep the same, and what we intend to change. Whether leadership team, systems, name, or anything else, you can count on us to be straight with you before you commit, not after.
Real partnership. We ask founders to retain meaningful equity. If we're right that your business is worth more with a well-built castle, you share in that with us.
Stewardship of what you built. We look after you, your people, your customers, and your reputation. To us, these are not just assets we're buying. We invest in them from every angle — modern systems, better tools, professional development — rather than stripping them out. In the long run, we think this is the best path for all involved, and rewards your trust in us.
Post-close
The operating disciplines of the best modern companies, installed inside a business with an immutable business-model foundation and the ability to produce results: product and customer thinking, professional design and brand, recruiting and talent, financial reporting and data infrastructure, sales process and CRM, documentation and systems. We are in the business of increasing company legibility — making great businesses easier to see, understand, and value for customers, employees, lenders, and future buyers.
For bankers and intermediaries
We respond to every teaser within 48 hours, provide honest early feedback on fit, and can move from introduction to LOI in weeks.