Bringing Transformational Capital to Lower Middle-Market Southern Businesses to Build Market Leaders
TGC Impact aims to maximize value for investors by combining access to underrepresented markets with operational value creation in businesses at an inflection point
According to the Small Business Administration, 67% of small businesses fail within the first 10 years due to a lack of capital and operational expertise, narrow business networks and the inability to purchase significant product quantities to qualify for competitive pricing. Women- and minority-led businesses are disproportionately affected by the cost of and/or lack of capital.
TGC Impact is a growth equity firm founded to provide patient capital and a network of industry experts to undercapitalized businesses to build capacity so that great companies have the wherewithal to scale.
This section of the report originally appeared in Middle Market Executive’s Spring 2022 issue. Read the full story in the archive.
The firm’s leadership, Tamika Tyson and Emily Halpern, combine Fortune 500 corporate experience with lower middle-market private equity expertise to partner with founders who have reached an inflection point. They are driven by the belief that the health and existence of small businesses are essential to economic recovery and stronger communities.
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent social justice movements highlighted the racial and gender disparity in business ownership and inequities in the U.S. financial system. With struggle comes change, as the events brought about a renewed commitment from Fortune 500 companies and the current administration. The U.S. government, for example, pledged to increase the share of contracts going to women and minority businesses by 50% by 2025, which is expected to translate into an additional $100 billion over the next five years.
Today, women-owned businesses account for 1 out of 5 businesses with revenues over $1 million. In 2020, minority-owned businesses generated more than $400 billion in economic output. TGC Impact’s founders believe more can be done to help established and growing women- and minority- led businesses propel into their next phase, resulting in economic prosperity, stronger communities and job growth.
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TGC Impact invests in great companies, not concepts, with proven business models and demonstrated growth, needing additional capital to scale and reach that next level. These businesses are women- or minority-led and are strategically located in the South with a product or service focused on one of the five core industries that the firm believes are the backbone of the U.S. economy:
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- Infrastructure
- Transportation and logistics
- Energy transition and renewables
- Manufacturing and distribution
- Business services
The South is an opportunity for economic growth and prosperity and is home to one of the largest populations of women and minority founders.
The firm was created to fill a void in access to capital for growing lower middle-market Southern-headquartered businesses. The South is an opportunity for economic growth and prosperity and is home to one of the largest populations of women and minority founders, and more than 150 Fortune 500 companies are headquartered there, with diversity initiatives to meet shareholder demand and differentiate from their competitors.
Despite this, Southern-based U.S. businesses have historically received a disproportionately smaller percentage of funding compared to larger investment communities based in the Northeast, Midwest and Western regions of the country. TGC Impact seeks to bridge the gap by partnering with founders who have reached an inflection point and require capital and expertise to fulfill their growth potential.
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Beyond capital, their portfolio companies gain access to the TGC Impact ecosystem of industry experts who have demonstrated track records in the sectors in which the firm invests. The powerful network of Fortune 500 executives, entrepreneurs and business owners works hand-in- hand with founders to implement strategies that support transformational growth and lasting change. TGC Impact’s model focuses on six areas, enabling the firm to address the financial and human capital needs of founders by leveraging the skillset of the TGC Impact ecosystem.
TGC Impact aims to maximize value for investors by combining access to underrepresented markets with operational value creation in growing businesses facing an inflection point. Beyond alpha generation, the firm’s impact-focused approach results in more economic growth, builds stronger communities and stimulates job growth.
Emily Halpern is the co-founder of TGC Impact and has over 20 years of experience in lower middle-market investing, diversity initiatives and business development both on the private equity and institutional investor side. Prior to launching TGC Impact, Halpern was responsible for originations in the Southeast for Brightwood Capital Advisors, a minority-owned firm with over $3 billion in assets, providing flexible capital in the lower middle market. Halpern serves as a strategic advisor for Innovate Capital, a Northeast-focused SBIC fund investing in women and minority businesses and is the chair of ACG Maryland’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee.
Tamika Tyson is the co-founder of TGC Impact and has over 25 years of risk management experience. She has worked with small businesses to multinational enterprises in a cross-section of industries, including energy, oil and gas, transportation, manufacturing, pulp and paper, infrastructure and business services. Prior to TGC Impact, Tyson was the global head of credit at Noble Energy, a former Fortune 500 company. There, she was a key member of the deal team that facilitated one of the largest transactions in history between Israel and Egypt, a $19.5 billion project. Tyson serves as a lifelong member of the National Black MBA Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc.
