Centana Growth Partners Named to Inc.’s 2023 List of Founder-Friendly Investors
Annual roundup highlights the private equity, venture capital, and debt firms with the best track
records of success backing entrepreneurs
NEW YORK & PALO ALTO – October 31, 2023 – 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.
The final list recognizes 218 firms that remain actively involved with the businesses they invest in, 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.
“Centana has always believed in empowering entrepreneurs, beyond just providing capital. We’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most innovative founders, and empowering their success is the driving force behind everything we do. We are happy to be recognized for this dedication while fostering the future of finance,” said Ben Cukier, a Partner at Centana Growth.
Centana Growth Partners is an investment team with decades of deep, relevant sector experience investing in, working with, and working for companies in financial services, fintech, and related enterprise software. Centana empowers its portfolio companies by providing not only investing capital, but access to the team’s investing expertise and diverse strategic network
of operating executives and industry influencers across the financial services ecosystem – the Centana Strategic Network. Centana is deliberately sized to ensure that portfolio companies get the time, attention, and hands-on support they need. Its investments range from $10 to 40+ million in each company, tailored to meet the needs of each entrepreneur.
The last 12 months have been busy for Centana, adding four new investments to its portfolio:
-Striveworks raised $33 Million in first institutional round led by Centana Growth Partners (June
2023)
-Operto Guest Technologies raised $25 Million in Series-B financing, led by Centana Growth
Partners (March 2023)
-Plooto raised $20m In Series B funding, led by Centana Growth Partners (December 2022)
-Thoropass (formerly Laika) raised $50m Series C with participation from Centana Growth
Partners (November 2022)
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/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 Centana Growth Partners
Centana is a specialized growth equity firm that invests in the future of finance. We collaborate with companies across the entire financial services ecosystem, from institutions to fintech disruptors, to add strategic and long-term value to our portfolio companies. We empower entrepreneurs with a combination of capital, network, and expertise to accelerate the growth of our portfolio companies. The Centana team taps into decades of financial services expertise and insight to invest in companies that bring real value and innovation to the industry.