Eric Keen and Chris Bennett Announce the Founding of Civitas Growth Partners

Nashville, TN / Charleston, SC — July 15, 2024 — Eric Keen and Chris Bennett are proud to announce the founding of Civitas Growth Partners, an investment firm dedicated to creating transformational growth in equity value for bootstrapped entrepreneurs managing software and technology-enabled services businesses with $1-4 million in revenue. The firm’s core thesis is that there exists significant opportunity in this segment of the market to empower companies that have been neglected by traditional capital allocators – either because they are too small for private equity and strategic buyers or not considered ‘moonshot’ enough for venture capital. Keen and Bennett have collaborated for over 18 years and bring over a decade of experience investing in companies with this profile, resulting in three successful exits to date: Institute for Professional Care Education, App Garden, and Home Care Pulse.

For Keen, the motivation for founding Civitas is deeply personal. “It has been the greatest joy of my career to support founders in this part of the market with capital, connectivity, and our experience in scaling companies. Witnessing these dedicated leaders achieve successful exits has been the pinnacle of my career, merging my professional expertise with my passion for service.”

This service-oriented approach is reflected in the firm’s name, derived from the Latin word for ‘community’. Said Bennett, “We view community in two ways: our network of people and experiences that support founders in achieving their goals, and the belief that entrepreneurship is a cornerstone of American exceptionalism and thriving communities across the US.”

To honor this sense of community, Keen and Bennett are thrilled to announce the Civitas Cares program whereby the firm gives 5% of its gains in each investment to a not-for-profit chosen by its entrepreneur partners. “Doing well by doing good is something that permeates the DNA at Civitas and is what excites us about going to work every day,” said Keen.

Civitas exclusively invests its partners’ capital, allowing the firm greater flexibility and time to help entrepreneurs realize their vision, free from the constraints of traditional institutional investor funds.

Prior to establishing Civitas Growth Partners, Keen accumulated 20 years of experience as a private equity investor, including over a decade as a General Partner at Council Capital. His prior engagements include roles at leading middle-market private equity firms including DW Healthcare Partners, The Riverside Company, and Norwest Equity Partners. For his part, Bennett has accumulated over 30 years of experience creating value in privately held businesses, previously serving as the CEO of Medic First Aid International and Health & Safety Institute as well as Executive Chairman of Institute for Professional Care Education and Envisage Technologies. He currently serves as Executive Chairman at Triad Behavioral Health and Activated Insights and as a Director at CubHub and TaskMaster Pro.

For more information about Civitas Growth Partners and its investment strategy, please visit Civitas Growth Partners.

About Civitas Growth Partners

Our mission at Civitas Growth Partners is to create transformational growth in equity value for bootstrapped entrepreneurs operating technology and technology enabled services businesses with $1-4 million of revenue. We back businesses that don’t fit the traditional VC/PE model, we invest our own personal capital, and we bring a proven value creation playbook specifically tailored to micro-cap companies. 

Contact

Eric Keen

Co-Founder, Partner

Civitas Growth Partners

216-526-7415

www.civitasgrowth.com