Harvard MBA. PE investor. Independent sponsor. Self-funded searcher. I’ve signed the personal guarantee you’re about to sign — which is why I catch what an accountant can’t.
After six years as an independent sponsor, I was exhausted. Every deal meant interviewing dozens of CPAs and lawyers just to find someone both competent and cost-effective for sub-$5M transactions.
The big firms wanted $75,000 for a QoE on a $5M deal. The small shops didn’t understand ETA economics. And nobody stopped the meter when they found a problem early enough to walk.
Guardian was built to fix exactly that: cost-effective QoE that doesn’t sink your deal, a customer-centered approach (we stop if the financials are bad), and deal advisory layered on top — not just accounting.
Cost-effective QoE that doesn’t sink your deal
We stop the meter when the financials are bad
Deal advisory layered on top — not just accounting
One firm, one team, no more vendor interviews
From catching the acquisition bug at Harvard Business School to building Guardian
Quit my job early & secured a non-paid internship the summer before I attended Harvard Business School. Knew immediately this was my calling.
Joined the country’s best business acquirers in PE. Learned the craft from the inside — the strategies, the pitfalls, and the patterns that separate a real QoE from a glorified spreadsheet.
Went out on my own. Hunted deals in automotive, industrial, and healthcare. Signed LOIs. Sat across from sellers, lenders, and brokers — and learned exactly where buyers quietly lose deals in diligence.
Fed up with broken QoE options for sub-$5M deals, I assembled a vetted network of senior CPAs into one buyer-side firm built for searchers, self-funded buyers, and independent sponsors.
Guardian has grown into a 17-person team handling $600M+ in transactions, serving acquisition entrepreneurs and deal professionals worldwide — with a 48-hour post-LOI engagement mode
Regular guest lecturer at Harvard Business School and Chicago Booth, sharing real-world QoE and diligence judgment with the next generation of acquirers.
The MBA programs training the next wave of self-funded searchers ask Elliott to shape how they think about Quality of Earnings. If the schools your competitors come from trust his judgment in the classroom, your deal can trust it in diligence.
Whether you need a full Quality of Earnings, targeted financial analysis, or judgment on a deal you’re staring at right now — Guardian is built for the 48 hours after you sign.