For the fourth year in a row, Satori Capital was honored with a place on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list. The 2024 list celebrates the private equity, venture capital firms, and lenders that back founder-led businesses and help them thrive. All companies named on the prestigious list have successful track records of collaboration and active involvement with the businesses they invest in.
“It has been a complicated few years for growth companies and the companies that fund them,” said Mike Hofman, editor-in-chief of Inc. “So we are happy to share with our readers the best, latest guidance on which venture capital firms, private equity firms, and growth-capital lenders have the track record and reputation of being especially good partners to founders and CEOs.”
To compile the selective list, Inc. directly solicited input from entrepreneurs who have sold to private equity and venture capital firms. Founders filled out questionnaires 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.
“The Founder-Friendly Investors list is a special honor for us because it reflects our genuine commitment to partnering with our portfolio companies,” said Satori co-founder Sunny Vanderbeck. “Every senior member of the Satori investment team has founded or served in a senior role at an operating company – we are operators, not financial engineers. That operational experience allows our portfolio companies to scale more quickly while preserving the legacies of founders and benefiting all stakeholders.”
Satori’s approach to investing, built on the principles of conscious capitalism, and its unique, long-term fund structure allow it to hold investments indefinitely and support leadership teams for as long as the partnership story plays out. Sunny’s best-selling book, Selling Without Selling Out: How to Sell Your Business Without Selling Your Soul, provides guidance to help business leaders articulate their priorities and find a buyer or capital partner who shares their values.
The Founder-Friendly Investors list is featured in the November 2024 issue of Inc. magazine and can be viewed online here.
Disclaimer: The Founder-Friendly Investors honor is awarded by Inc. to select private equity, venture capital, and debt firms, including Satori Capital. Winners were assessed through questionnaires with business founders. Inc. is not a client of Satori Capital, Satori Capital did not pay to participate in the program, and participation in all questionnaires was completely voluntary.