NEW CANAAN, CT, October 28, 2025 – Gridiron Capital, LLC (“Gridiron Capital” or “Gridiron”), an investment firm focused on partnering with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams, is proud to announce that it has been named to Inc. Magazine’s 2025 Founder-Friendly Investors List. This award honors private equity firms, venture capital firms, and lenders known for backing founder-led companies and those that remain actively involved in the businesses they invest in. This marks the fifth time Inc. has recognized Gridiron in its esteemed list of Founder-Friendly Investors.
By combining hard work with partnerships grounded in shared values, Gridiron transforms growing companies through a unique culture derived from direct experience in building and running small businesses, fostering integrity and respect while aligning vision and values with founders and management for lasting performance. Inc. selected the Founder-Friendly list by consulting entrepreneurs who sold to private equity and venture capital firms, gathering insights into their partnerships and the growth their companies experienced.
“Raising capital is no small feat for today’s entrepreneurs. That’s why discovering investors who offer more than just financial backing—those who bring mentorship, resources, and a true spirit of partnership to your growth journey—is both rare and invaluable,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “The 2025 Founder-Friendly Investors are collaborators and dedicated to helping their portfolio companies succeed.”
Since its founding in 2005, Gridiron has invested in and worked alongside more than 227 growth-oriented companies, including 40 platform companies, many of which were founder-led at the time of Gridiron’s investment. Whether partnering with a business services, consumer products and services, or industrial growth company, Gridiron fuels growth by leveraging a combination of operational expertise, financial resources, and strategic planning and execution. This strategy equips Gridiron to develop tailored solutions that focus on boosting growth for its affiliated companies.
Tom Burger, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Gridiron, stated, “We are immensely proud to receive Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investor Award for the fifth year. With our roots as operators in founder- and family-owned businesses, we strive to be authentic, results-driven partners who truly understand the daily challenges faced by founders and management teams, and are committed to honoring and preserving the legacy they’ve built.”
Kevin Jackson, Managing Partner at Gridiron Capital, added, “The Founder-Friendly award is a collective achievement for the entire Gridiron team and reflects our dedication to working hand-in-hand with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams to execute on their vision. We aim to be a trusted partner to their team, providing support through challenging decisions, collaborating to build value through our Centers of Excellence process, and helping them scale to achieve more together.”
See the complete 2025 Inc. Founder- Friendly Investors List and more information here: www.inc.com/founder-friendly-investors/2025
About Gridiron Capital, LLCGridiron Capital is an investment firm focused on partnering with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams, and creating value by building middle-market companies into industry-leaders in consumer products & services, industrial growth, and business services segments in the United States and Canada. We help transform growing companies by winning together through hard work, partnerships grounded in shared values and a unique culture that comes from hands-on experience building and running businesses. As a team led by former operators and entrepreneurs, we know what it takes to run successful businesses on a day-to-day basis. Additional information is available on the firm’s website: www.gridironcapital.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. Additional information is available on the firm’s website: www.inc.com.
Contacts
Gridiron Capital, LLC
Tom Burger
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
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This award is the opinion of the party conferring the award and not of Gridiron. The 2025 list of Founder-Friendly Investors, issued by Inc. on 10/28/2025, was based on the time period of October 2024 – October 2025. Gridiron submitted a nomination and paid a participation fee to be considered for this list. There can be no assurance that other providers or surveys would reach the same conclusion as the foregoing.