“Local ownership matters and place matters and so everyone should care about that.”
Doug Lepisto is the co-founder and managing partner of Sleeping Giant Capital, an investment firm launching its second fund called Principled Impact Evergreen Fund II with $100 million in initial commitments to buy out West Michigan businesses and support growth under new ownership.
“Unlike other funds, the term of our funds is over 25 years, which means we buy without an intent to sell and that provides, we think, greater stability and growth potential for those companies.”
Sleeping Giant bases its model on two programs: the Acquire Course that educates and coaches professionals who want to acquire, own and operate businesses, and the CEO-in-Residence Program that partners with those ready to move forward, offering funding and support through the process.
“There's a lot of mid-career professionals that are disenchanted disillusioned with corporate life and they want to be an entrepreneur. They want some freedom, some autonomy to build something and this is the path that sometimes people aren’t aware of. We're hoping with the second fund, they can see the potential for themselves to become a CEO and do something amazing here in West Michigan.”
Sleeping Giant also partners with Western Michigan University for undergraduate programs and talent development.
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