Aquila Capital Partners Named To Inc.’s 2021 Founder-Friendly Investment Firms List

I am honored to announce that Aquila Capital Partners was chosen for Inc’s 2021 Founder-Friendly Investment Firms award. This award is given to founder-friendly private equity or venture capital firms that believe in backing founder-led businesses and helping them thrive. Even in the face of unprecedented economic challenges, the firms Aquila invested in were led by a group of founders and leaders who are dedicated to their company mission. It is an honor to support the next generation of tech-enabled entrepreneurs and be chosen as a recipient of this award.?

Aquila began over 20 years ago after I sold the first public company I helped build. I wanted to get back to the energy and grit of being a serial entrepreneur like I was before getting involved with taking companies public and running them. But I wanted to do it differently—I wanted to be more involved from the start. Over three decades in business, I’ve discovered that businesses are instilled with the DNA and passion that their leaders carry. Those companies who are still led by their founders have unmistakable entrepreneurial energy and are often at the helm of defining and changing their industries.?

After experiencing some measure of success at the beginning of my career, I asked myself how I could give back to others in my field. I decided to dedicate a portion of my professional life to investing in entrepreneurs—but I did not want that investment to be solely financial. Entrepreneurs need help outside of monetary investment, and I had experienced this firsthand. There are so many other aspects of building a business. Finding excellent mentors and building the right team are equally important.?

So I began Aquila with this purpose in mind. We spend our time helping already established entrepreneurs build their businesses, not just financially, but through collaboration and mentorship. 76% of people think having a mentor is important—but only 37% have one. Imagine the heights these businesses could reach if they were backed by the right team. In fact, some studies indicate that mentorship is directly related to career success. That’s where Aquila comes in.?

Working with established entrepreneurs requires a different approach than working with someone who is just getting their business started. These businesses have seen some measure of success. One of my portfolio’s CEOs summed it up best. He said, "we entrepreneurs know how to get from zero to one, and we can kind of get from one to two or three, maybe four, but really need some help to get from one to ten". And that's what Aquila is all about: helping entrepreneurs get from level one to level ten.

The Inc 2021 Founder-Friendly Investment Firms award recognizes investment partners entrepreneurs can trust and work alongside, not investors who simply contribute capital but remain otherwise uninvolved. We’ve seen accelerated growth at Aquila through our mentorship strategy, and I look forward to the continued future successes of all of our companies. Thank you again, Inc, for this recognition. To find out more about Aquila, go to the Aquila website.