Ten:34 Partners

What Ten:34 Partners does

Ten:34 Partners is a Cleveland, Ohio-based private investment firm that makes equity and selective debt investments in lower middle market companies, with a stated focus on healthcare and business services. Founded in 2020 by Ken Marblestone and Justin Stark, the firm targets companies with $5–30M of revenue, $1–5M of free cash flow, and enterprise values under $20M, taking control or significant minority positions. The firm explicitly limits its active portfolio to roughly 3–5 companies at a time, a positioning choice intended to allow concentrated operational involvement rather than broad diversification.

The business model follows a standard lower middle market private equity structure: management fees on committed or deployed capital combined with carried interest on realized exits, with deal-by-deal or single-fund deployment mechanics. Sourcing is positioned as direct-from-business-owner and operator relationships, and the partners' prior track record — $117.4M invested across 12 documented portfolio companies plus advisory roles on $500M+ in transaction value — is the primary credibility anchor used in deal outreach. The portfolio skews heavily toward healthcare (services, products, specialty distribution) with selective business services exposure.

Geographically the firm is headquartered in the Midwest but invests nationally; no information is disclosed on current fund vintage, committed capital, AUM, fee rates, or realized exits in the available material, so firm-level economics cannot be triangulated from public sources.

Name

Ten:34 Partners

Legal name

Ten:34 Partners, LLC

Website

https://ten34.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ten:34 Partners is a Cleveland-based private investment firm founded in 2020 that invests equity and debt in lower middle market healthcare and business services companies with $5–30M revenue and sub-$20M enterprise value.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Investment Services

NAICS

Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Independent Sponsor / Fundless Sponsor ETA (FSANALAB)

Keywords

• Private equity investment
• Growth capital
• Lower middle market
• Healthcare investing
• Business services investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Private Equity Returns: The firm generates returns through equity investments in lower middle market healthcare and business service companies, with occasional debt investments. Returns are realized through exits via strategic sales to larger companies or financial sponsors, recapitalizations, and portfolio company growth.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ten:34 Partners is a private investment firm providing growth capital through equity and occasional debt investments to lower middle market healthcare (non-medical device) and business service companies. The firm partners with family and entrepreneurial owned businesses seeking transition or growth support, typically targeting companies with $5-30 million in revenue, $1-5 million in free cash flow, and enterprise values under $20 million. Investments are accompanied by strategic guidance, financial expertise, talent acquisition support, and active board involvement across a concentrated portfolio of 3-5 companies.

Product overview

Ten:34 Partners is a private investment firm offering a unified set of growth capital investment services. Their core offering is providing equity and occasionally debt investments to healthcare (non-medical device) and business service companies. They target family and entrepreneurial owned businesses seeking a transition, with companies typically having $5-30 million in revenue, $1-5 million in free cash flow, and enterprise values under $20 million. The firm focuses on a limited number of portfolio companies (3-5 typically), providing patient, nimble capital alongside strategic guidance, financial acumen, talent acquisition support, and mergers and acquisitions expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Growth Capital Investment Services Private equity investment services that provide growth capital through debt and equity financing to healthcare (non-medical device) and business service companies in the lower middle market. Target companies typically have $5-30 million in revenue and enterprise values under $20 million, with the firm offering patient, nimble capital alongside strategic, financial, talent, and M&A support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Revenues and earnings more than tripled during ownership for healthcare staffing company
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Junior AchievementminorOthersTen:34 Partners contributes a percentage of profits to Junior Achievement, the world's largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through experiential programs.
• The Bail ProjectminorOthersTen:34 Partners supports The Bail Project, an organization fighting mass incarceration with a goal to establish pretrial alternatives grounded in presumption of innocence regardless of race, income, or charge.
• Girls on the RunminorOthersTen:34 Partners contributes to Girls on the Run, a program reaching girls at a critical developmental stage and strengthening their confidence through connection between physical and emotional health.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Shoreline Equity Partners: Lower middle market PE firm focused on industrial and business services companies, comparable in target profile (founder-led transitions, similar revenue/EBIT ranges) to Ten:34's business services vertical.
• Centre Partners: Lower middle market PE firm focused on consumer, healthcare, and business services. Comparable in target company profile, check size, and founder/family-owned business focus.
• Linden Capital Partners: Healthcare-focused private equity firm investing in lower middle market healthcare services and products companies. Directly comparable to Ten:34 in sector focus, deal size, and value-creation playbook.
• Trinity Hunt Partners: Lower middle market growth-oriented private equity firm with similar focus on founder/family-led businesses in healthcare and business services sectors.
• NMS Capital: Lower middle market PE firm investing in healthcare services and consumer-facing businesses. Comparable target company size and sector mix to Ten:34.
• Incline Equity Partners: Lower middle market PE firm investing in business services and consumer-facing companies. Overlapping deal size, sector mix, and partnership approach with Ten:34.
• Vistria Group: Chicago-based private equity firm with deep healthcare services and business services focus. Comparable to Ten:34 in vertical specialization, mission orientation, and lower middle market deal sourcing.
• Sheridan Capital Partners: Lower middle market healthcare services investor focused on buyouts and growth equity. Overlapping target profile with Ten:34 (healthcare services, family/founder-led transitions, similar EV range).

Broad incumbents

• New Mountain Capital: Larger growth-oriented private equity firm with significant healthcare services and business services exposure. Provides a broader incumbent benchmark for Ten:34's growth equity playbook.
• Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe: Established healthcare-focused PE firm with broader fund scale and longer track record. Represents the institutional incumbent comparable in healthcare vertical specialization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ten:34 Partners