TZP Group Named to Inc.’s 2026 List of Founder-Friendly Investors

The annual list highlights the private equity firms, venture capital firms, and lenders with track records of backing founder-led companies.

New York, NY, October 27, 2026 – TZP Group is proud to announce its recognition amongst Inc. Magazine’s 2026 Founder-Friendly Investors list, honoring the private equity, venture capital firms, and lenders with a track record of backing founder-led companies.

The prestigious list celebrates the investors that work closely with entrepreneurs and remain engaged with the businesses they back. Honorees are recognized for their approach to partnering with founders and supporting their companies through growth and beyond.

“We are proud to be named to this list for the seventh consecutive year as it reflects our unwavering commitment to being a ‘Partner of Choice’ for founders and management teams,” said Sam Katz, Managing Partner of TZP Group. “We are honored that our business-owner partners continue to entrust us to help maximize the value of their retained stakes.”

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. To compile the list, Inc. went straight to the source: entrepreneurs who have sold to private equity and venture capital firms.

Founders completed questionnaires about their experiences partnering with private equity, venture capital, and debt firms and shared data on how their companies have performed during these partnerships. The resulting list highlights investors that founders identified as strong partners throughout the investment process.

For more information or to view the complete list of honorees, visit https://www.inc.com/founder-friendly-investors/2026.

View TZP Group’s Inc. profile and recognition history: https://www.inc.com/profile/tzp-group.

About TZP

TZP Group, a multi-strategy investment firm with approximately $2.5 billion in assets under management, based on the Form ADV filed in March 2026, is focused on control, growth equity, debt and structured capital investments in technology, business services, and consumer companies. Founded in 2007, TZP targets companies with solid historical performance and sustainable value propositions and aims to be a "Partner of Choice" for business owners and management teams. TZP seeks to invest primarily in closely held, private companies in which the owners desire to retain a significant stake and partner with an investor with complementary operating and financial skills to accelerate company growth, increase profitability, and maximize the value of their retained stake. TZP leverages its investment professionals' operating and investment experience to provide strategic and operational guidance and is dedicated to long-term value creation. For more information, please visit www.tzpgroup.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 its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

For more media inquiries please contact:

Dan Gaspar, Partner, TZP Group | dgaspar@tzpgroup.com