Annual roundup highlights the private equity, venture capital, and debt firms with the best track records of success backing entrepreneurs
NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Inc. today announced its fifth annual Founder-Friendly Investors list, honoring the private equity, venture capital, and debt firms with the best track records of success backing entrepreneurs. H/L Ventures, one of the original venture studios and among New York’s most active firms focused on impact and diversity.
The final list recognizes 218 firms that remain actively involved with the businesses in their portfolios, and that have earned the trust of the entrepreneurs they support to help drive growth.
“Now more than ever, founder-led companies need financing partners that offer guidance, expertise, and understanding—not just capital. These are the private equity, venture capital, and debt firms that have founders’ backs when it comes to accelerating growth,” says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. Business Media.
H/L Ventures has been taking a hands-on approach to daily active engagement with founders since the company’s founding in 2009. This is a fundamental part of the investment strategy and sets it apart from other venture firms. H/L’s community of advisors provides finance, marketing, sales, and operational expertise to portfolio companies, through regular check-in and communication with each company. H/L has designed an approach that entails building deep connections with their portfolio companies in order to maximize potential for future success and better returns, even after their exit.
Another pillar of H/L’s investment thesis is investing at the nexus of growth, impact and diversity. With a strong preference for diverse founded startups, more than 80% of the teams backed by H/L and its funds include at least one underrepresented founder. The reasoning behind this is that contrary to some venture firms, H/L Ventures views strong financial returns synonymous with diverse founding teams. H/L’s portfolio of impact driven companies continues to create breakthrough solutions in the areas of decarbonization, global warming, pollution, clean water, and more. These portfolio companies include; Automotus, inCitu, LOLIWARE, Sealed, Sorcero and Therma.
“We are thrilled to be recognized for a second year in a row as part of Inc.’s 2023 Founder-Friendly Investors,” said Oliver Libby, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of H/L Ventures. “We continue to support our portfolio companies through our model of Daily Active Engagement, encouraging an active relationship with our portfolio founders and working hard to support them in any activities they need to ensure their success.”
To compile the list, Inc. went straight to the source: entrepreneurs who have sold to private equity and venture capital firms. Founders filled out a questionnaire about their experiences partnering with private equity, venture capital, and debt firms and shared data on how their portfolio companies have grown during these partnerships.
To see H/L’s feature and the complete list, please visit: https://www.inc.com/founder-friendly-investors/2023
Introduced in 2019, the Founder-Friendly Investors list quickly established itself as one of Inc.’s most resourceful franchises. It has become a go-to guide for entrepreneurs who want to grow their companies while retaining an ownership stake.
The November 2023 issue of Inc. magazine is available online now at https://www.inc.com/magazine and will be on newsstands beginning October 31.
About Inc.
The world’s most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community they need to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
About H/L Ventures
Hatzimemos / Libby Holdings LLC, (“H/L Ventures”) strives to help mission-driven founders build inspiring, valuable companies from inception to exit. Founded in 2009, H/L Ventures began its history as one of the first modern venture studios, and certainly among the earliest company-building firms focused on start-ups at the nexus of growth, impact, and diversity. H/L Ventures is specifically designed to deliver on Daily Active Engagement with all its portfolio companies, providing an unparalleled ecosystem of resources to entrepreneurs throughout their journey.
Media Contact
Elizabeth Byington, Spark PR, 1 6312943672, [email protected]
SOURCE H/L Ventures
