Three men who have been active in Chattanooga’s legal, political and startup scenes have formed a partnership to acquire established businesses and help them grow.
Alderman Holdings is essentially founded on the antithesis of today’s venture-capital ethos, wherein founders and investors hope to scale and quickly sell startups to bigger companies.
“Our belief is if you’re doing something with no exit date in mind, you’re going to make different decisions,” said Alderman Holdings partner Ben Brown. “We think you’re probably going to make better decisions.”
Brown, the former CEO of SwiftWing Ventures, and two fellow University of Virginia graduates announced the formation of their company in a Wednesday letter addressed to “friends and colleagues” asking for referrals.
Alderman’s other partners are Jay Hildebrand, a lawyer formerly with Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan; and Andrew Kean, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke’s first chief operating officer, who is president of Tennessee Stillhouse and serves on its board of directors.
Alderman’s model is based on finding companies that are at a point where owners are ready to move on because of retirement, a health issue or to start or join another business, for example.
“We would be the resource to acquire the company and transition them out,” Brown, 33, said.
That said, owners alternatively could stay in the business and maintain some ownership.
Alderman will look to bring in outside investors and could seek financial assistance from banks, Brown said.
The company was founded, in part, on the trend of baby boomers reaching retirement age. In turn, most of the companies Alderman expects to be involved with would be well established and more traditional, such as manufacturing firms.
“They’re not necessarily really sexy businesses, but they’re good businesses,” Brown said.
Among the industries Alderman probably wouldn’t consider: professional services firms, technology firms and restaurants.
The three men plan to be active in the companies they acquire, so they have limited potential locations to within about an hour’s drive of Chattanooga.
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406. Follow her on Twitter @MitraMalek.