We Buy Small Businesses.
Helping investors build longterm wealth by buying and building essential businesses.
America runs on small businesses, and we believe they deserve more attention, not less.
Small businesses are the quiet engines behind job creation, skilled labor, and everyday essentials. They represent 99% of the entire business sector in America. We see opportunity to help founders exit with dignity and to give investors access to stable, cash-flowing small businesses rooted in the real economy. Small business investing isn't just a financial strategy. It's a way to strengthen communities, preserve legacies, and generate lasting value.
33M+
Over 33 million small businesses in the U.S., making up 99.9% of all U.S. businesses
43.5%
Small businesses contribute approximately 43.5% of U.S. GDP
62.7M
62.7 million people, 46.4% of the private workforce, are employed by small businesses
17.3M
From 1995 to 2021, small businesses created 17.3 million net new jobs, accounting for 62% of total job creation
We're Long-Term Investors
We are a differentiated option focused on building enduring businesses for decades vs. maximizing short-term value.
Long Time Horizon
We think in decades not quarters, and strive to own businesses for the long-term vs. selling companies every 3-5 years.
Business Builders
We've led businesses as CEO and CFO, understand the challenges (and joys) of running a business, and know great companies aren't built in spreadsheets.
People & Culture
We have lived in a special culture and are driven by our purpose of empowering people and organizations to reach their full potential.
How We Work
We Partner With Owners Who Built Something Real.
Tenth Street Equity acquires family owned and founder owned businesses across America. We're not financial engineers — we're operators and investors who understand what it took to build what you've built. We come in as stewards, not strangers.
- We invest our own capital alongside every deal
- We preserve your team, culture, and legacy
- We think in decades, not exit timelines
Our Investors are family and individuals
Our investor network consist of family capital and individual investors whom we have built deep relationships with. We strive day in and day out to serve our purpose of building a complete people first culture. The people first culture fosters trust and transparency.
Founder & CEO
Founder & CEO - Sly Buford
As the founder, our approach to investing in family owned and founder owned small businesses is first and foremost through partnership. But our fundamentals is through the value investing approach. We seek to create value in companies we buy or invest in.
