Operator-First M&A & Advisory

Silver Crest Capital

Built for founder-led businesses the market overlooks.

Operationally excellent companies stay invisible when the founder doesn't speak the language of capital. I translate — so the value gets seen, valued, and backed.

A decade across $800M+ in institutional capital, $200M+ in transactions diligenced, and hands-on operating turnarounds — now focused on the founder-led businesses larger institutions miss.

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The Bridge
Michael Li, Founder of Silver Crest Capital
Founder & Managing Director
Michael Li

I'm an operator-first advisor for founder-led manufacturers, contractors, and service businesses — companies built over decades that escape the institutional screen. I've sat on the capital side, screening hundreds of opportunities a year, and inside operating companies rebuilding the systems underneath them. That combination is the point: I know what allocators need to see, and I know how a business actually runs.

Experience across Cliffwater · Silver Creek Modular · Webb Investments

More on Michael →
The Thesis

The best businesses of the next decade are operationally excellent and invisible to traditional capital — because the founder doesn't speak the language of the system that decides who gets backed. The value is already built. My work is making it legible to the people who deploy capital, so it gets priced and backed for what it actually is.

The Advisory Spectrum

Where I work

Six ways I help founder-led businesses get seen, valued, and capitalized — across the arc from operations to exit.

01
M&A Advisory
Buy- and sell-side advisory for the backbone of modern industry: manufacturing, construction, and industrial services.
02
Capital Access Strategy
Turning operationally excellent but financing-invisible businesses into something global capital markets understand and reward.
03
Cross-Border M&A
Origination and deal navigation across the US–Asia divide, structuring trust where the usual categories fail.
04
Operator Due Diligence
Operational assessments for PE sponsors and family offices. I've been inside the machine; I know where the floor is soft.
05
Strategic Consulting
Growth strategy and capital allocation for founders ready to scale without losing what makes the business work.
06
Niche Business Advisory
Deep-domain advisory in sectors the market isn't watching: logistics, specialized trades, tech-enabled services.
Selected Work

A record of translation

Experience · Prior Roles
01
Institutional Fund Commitments — $800M+
Evaluated and recommended $800M+ in private-fund commitments — buyout, growth equity, and secondaries — for institutional allocators.
Cliffwater
02
Modular Construction — $20M Section 363 Acquisition
As part of a family-office team, led the financial restructuring of a distressed modular manufacturer — back to solvency within a year.
Silver Creek Modular / Webb
03
Fundraising — $9M Round Closed
Structured and executed a $9M raise, shaping the financial narrative for high-conviction industrial investors.
Family office — Webb / Silver Creek
Silver Crest Engagements
01
Multi-Concept Restaurant Group — M&A & Exit
Advised on the sale of a founder-led restaurant platform running multiple concepts on a centralized-kitchen model.
02
AI Startup — Capital Growth Advisory
Fundraising strategy, investor positioning, and seed formation — translating technical innovation into institutional terms.
03
Software & Tech — Pre-IPO Readiness
Strategic positioning and financial readiness ahead of a potential public-market process.
04
Construction & Infrastructure — Financial Strategy
Budgeting, reporting, and cost-management systems to support growth and project financing.
Who I Work With

The founders capital tends to miss

Founder
The Overlooked Founder
Operationally excellent businesses that stay invisible to traditional private equity, because the founder doesn't speak the system's language.
Bridge
The East–West Operator
Manufacturing and industrial businesses navigating the US–Asia divide, who need a partner fluent in both worlds.
Institutional
PE Sponsors & Family Offices
Allocators who need real operational depth on manufacturing, construction, and modular industrial targets.
Legacy
First-Generation Builders
Founders navigating institutional systems built for someone else — who've earned every room twice.
The Silver Crest Edge

Why founders choose this

Operator First
I've been inside the machine: ERP rebuilds, finance teams, the factory floor. The advisory starts from how a business actually runs.
Institutional Fluency
I've sat on the capital side, screening hundreds of opportunities a year. I know what allocators need to see, and how to show them.
A Lived Bridge
East–West is where I'm from. I navigate dealmaking across it with native fluency.
Legacy Over Liquidity
Built for the founder traditional PE misses: the one who wants the work to endure, not just to sell.
Contact

Let's find the value the market missed.

If you're a founder, sponsor, or family office working where operational excellence meets overlooked capital, I'd like to hear from you.

michael@silvercrest-capital.com LinkedIn ↗ michaelli.co ↗