The Zabel Companies Named to Inc.’s List of Founder-Friendly Investors for Third Straight Year

Annual roundup highlights the private equity, venture capital, and lenders with track records of backing founder-led companies

Charlotte, NC (October 29, 2024) – Inc., the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future, today announced its annual Founder-Friendly Investors list, honoring the private equity, venture capital firms, and lenders with a track record of backing founder-led companies.  The Zabel Companies is proud to have been named to this list for the third consecutive year.

“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.”

“We’re humbled to be named to the Founder-Friendly Investors list for the third straight year,” said Bill Lunsford, Managing Partner of Zabel. “The business owners we work with care deeply about partnerships having a positive impact on all stakeholders.  As investment partners, we believe our role carries significant privilege and responsibility.  It is an honor to be recognized again by the founders with whom we’ve partnered over the years.”

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 the complete list, go to: https://www.inc.com/founder-friendly-investors/2024

About The Zabel Companies

Based in Charlotte, NC, The Zabel Companies is an investment firm dedicated to partnering with management teams to invest in privately held companies over the long term within the niche manufacturing, value-added distribution, and outsourced business services sectors. Zabel brings a patient and flexible approach to investing in and growing high quality businesses. Whether through a buyout, recapitalization, or injection of growth capital, Zabel’s strategy is to work closely with management teams to grow businesses and build value for all parties involved. For more information, visit www.zabelcompanies.com.

About Inc.

Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of our community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating our future. Inc.’s award-winning work achieves a monthly brand footprint of more than 40 million across a variety of channels, including events, digital, print, video, podcasts, newsletters, and social media. Its proprietary Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since its launch as the Inc. 100 in 1982, analyzes company data to rank the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The recognition that comes with inclusion on this and other prestigious Inc. lists, such as Female Founders and Power Partners, gives the founders of top businesses the opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit www.inc.com.