Thirteen Dallas-Fort Worth firms appear on Inc.’s 2026 list of the country’s founder-friendly investors.

This year’s unranked list recognizes 294 venture capital firms, private equity firms and debt lenders. The honorees pump capital into companies, Inc. said, but also help them “navigate challenges, accelerate growth and build lasting businesses.”

A champion for founders

Eliot Kerlin Jr., co-founder and managing partner at Dallas-based Broadwing Capital, earned special recognition this year as one of 36 Founder Champions. These investors “have built reputations for backing founders with more than capital, from tailored guidance to steady support through difficult stretches,” Inc. said.

The magazine said Kerlin has applied a “stewardship-first model” that engages founders while helping businesses grow without sacrificing culture, community impact or legacy.

Broadwing’s ‘founder-friendly approach’

Broadwing itself is among the 294 honorees, making the list for the first time. The private equity firm invests in lower-middle-market manufacturers and service providers.

“This recognition is especially meaningful to us because it reflects the experience of the founders we partner with,” Kerlin said in a statement.

“When a founder chooses Broadwing, they are putting their trust in our team to help carry forward something they have worked years, sometimes generations, to build. We take that responsibility seriously,” he said. “For us, being founder-friendly is not a tagline. It is how we believe partnerships should work.”

Broadwing said its “founder-friendly approach” is key to building partnerships.

The firm said it’s often the first institutional capital partner to back a business. The Broadwing team takes time before investing to understand a company and what its founders hope to achieve by taking an outside investment.

After completing a funding deal, Broadwing provides resources and support to accelerate a company’s growth “while preserving the people and values at the core of each business,” the firm said.

Broadwing’s $440 million investment fund

In August, Broadwing said it had raised $440 million for its first investment fund, Broadwing Capital Fund I.

Kerlin and Andrew Boisseau, co-founder and managing partner at Broadwing, launched the firm in 2022. Since then, Broadwing has invested in 26 lower-middle-market companies, the firm said. It manages more than $700 million in assets.

“We’re on a mission-driven journey to build the most trusted and transformative private equity firm in the lower middle market, and Fund I reflects the confidence our investors have placed in our team, our strategy and our track record,” Kerlin said in a statement at the time.

13 founder-friendly investors in DFW

The 13 DFW firms on Inc.’s founder-friendly list are:

• Dallas-based Broadwing Capital
• Frisco-based Blue Star Innovation Partners
• Dallas-based CIC Partners
• Dallas-based Citation Capital
• Dallas-based Cypress Growth Capital
• Southlake-based Gauge Capital
• Dallas-based Latticework Capital Management
• Dallas- and New York City-based Maple Park Capital Partners
• Dallas-based Satori Capital
• Dallas-based Sky Island Capital
• Dallas-based Sole Source Capital
• Dallas-based Trinity Hunt Partners
• Dallas-based Trive Capital

Maple Park’s ‘founder’s perspective’

Maple Park — itself a startup — takes pride in embracing the “founder’s perspective.”

The investment firm, which has dual headquarters in Dallas and New York City, said the resources it supplies to portfolio companies include executive recruiting assistance, guidance from seasoned advisers, and help with adoption of AI and other technology.

“The founder’s perspective is one built into every stage of our value creation process,” Alexander Blankfein, co-founder and managing partner, said in a statement.

“We aim to provide our founders a different experience, one where our partnership focuses on their goals as much as the numbers, where real and compounding trust is prioritized, and where our culture reflects the same relentless commitment to success that founders bring to their own businesses,” he said.

Since its founding last year, Maple Park has invested in Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, which the firm called the world’s largest Italian ice concept, and Prep Network, a prep sports platform.

“As founders ourselves, we understand the pride our partners have in their businesses and the importance of taking a collaborative approach to driving business value,” Andrew Lauck, co-founder and managing partner at Maple Park, said in a statement.

“We have the privilege of working alongside incredible leaders,” he said, “and we look forward to helping them access new paths to accelerated growth.”

Maple Park invests in North American service businesses in sectors such as multiunit franchising; youth enrichment; travel and hospitality; and business services.

How Inc. picked the honorees

A firm submits an application to be considered for the annual list. To be eligible, a firm must have exited at least one U.S.-based, founder-led portfolio company since Jan. 1, 2021.

To evaluate a firm’s commitment to founder-led companies, Inc. collects data about how portfolio companies grew while working with their investment partners. Inc. also reviews feedback from founders about how a firm helped them grow.

With these findings, Inc. generates a proprietary score that measures a firm’s support for entrepreneurs behind its portfolio companies. This score, combined with research by Inc. editors, determines which firms appear on the list.

“With the current funding environment and rapid changes facing growing companies, founders are looking for more than just capital from their investors,” Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc., said in a statement. “They want true partners who believe in their business, but who are also able to provide the critical advisement and strategic support they need to reach their potential.”