Tice Ventures

What Tice Ventures does

Tice Ventures is a veteran-owned private equity firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, operating since 2003 with a 1–10 person team. The firm pursues a multi-strategy Southeast US investment mandate combining three areas of expertise: (1) leveraged buyouts of well-run small businesses with custom-tailored transition plans for owners who may fully exit, partially exit, or remain involved; (2) real estate development, including value-add office and multifamily projects, ground-up construction, and urban in-fill redevelopment and land assemblage in the Charleston area; and (3) entrepreneurship, where the firm starts niche businesses targeting dependable recurring cash flow. The target customer base is small business owners seeking succession or liquidity solutions and real estate owners needing significant capital for value-add or development projects. A referral or co-marketing relationship with Fortibus Capital is referenced from the firm's website for business acquisition transitions.

The firm's go-to-market is purely direct and consultative — a website with a contact form and a 24-hour response commitment, supplemented by phone (843) 735-3115 and email ([email protected]). There is no channel intermediation, no public pricing, and no disclosed institutional investor or fund-vehicle structure. Brian Tice is identified as Principal. Revenue is not disclosed, and the firm generates returns via PE ownership economics (operational improvements and exit proceeds on LBOs) and real estate development profits (rental income, property appreciation, development margin), rather than fee-based SaaS or licensing revenue. The firm positions itself as a community-oriented buyer that creates jobs, preserves local businesses, and sustains neighborhood economies, distinguishing itself through veteran ownership and trust-based relationship management rather than scale or technology.

Name

Tice Ventures

Legal name

Tice Ventures

Website

https://ticeventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tice Ventures is a Charleston, SC-based veteran-owned private equity firm founded in 2003 that invests in small businesses via leveraged buyouts and value-add real estate (office, multifamily, urban in-fill) across the Southeast US, serving business owners seeking succession transitions and real estate owners needing development capital.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-PE / Lower Middle Market ETA Funds (FSANALAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Geography-Focused ETA (e.g., LATAM/Europe/Asia) (FSANALAJ)

Keywords

• Private equity investment
• Leveraged buyouts
• Small business acquisition
• Value-add real estate
• Business transition planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

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, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Private Equity Returns - Leveraged Buyouts: Generates returns through acquiring well-run small businesses via leveraged buyout opportunities. Returns are realized through operational improvements, value creation, and eventual exit or continued ownership.
2. Real Estate Development: Invests in value-add office and multifamily real estate projects, including ground-up development focused on urban in-fill redevelopment and land assemblage. Revenue generated through property appreciation, rental income, and development profits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Tice Ventures is a veteran-owned private equity firm headquartered in Charleston, SC that invests in small businesses through leveraged buyouts and value-add real estate projects. The firm develops custom-tailored transition plans for small business owners seeking complete exit, partial exit, or continued involvement, and invests in value-add office, multifamily, and ground-up real estate developments. The firm also starts businesses that meet specific community market demands with the aim of creating recurring cash flow.

Product overview

Tice Ventures operates as a veteran-owned private equity firm offering an integrated portfolio of investment and business services. The company provides small business investment through leveraged buyouts, business acquisition services with custom transition planning, real estate development (value-add office and multifamily projects plus ground-up development), and entrepreneurship through starting businesses for niche market needs. These services work together to create jobs, improve communities, and build value for investors through win-win business relationships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Acquisition
• Real Estate Development
• Entrepreneurship

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Fortibus CapitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFortibus Capital is referenced as a resource for business acquisition information. Tice Ventures links to their website with a 'Learn more' call-to-action in the business acquisition section, suggesting a collaborative or referral relationship for helping business owners navigate transitions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Greystar Real Estate Partners: Largest US multifamily and value-add real estate operator and developer with significant Southeast presence. Relevant incumbent on Tice's value-add office and multifamily strategy, though operating globally and at vastly larger scale.
• Main Street Capital: Publicly traded lower-middle-market PE and debt investor providing capital to small US businesses. A broadly comparable incumbent that competes for the same LBO opportunity set, though at much larger scale and via both debt and equity structures.
• Trinity Hunt Partners: Lower-middle-market PE firm acquiring founder-led US businesses with custom transition plans. Comparable model around preserving legacy and offering sellers flexible exit structures, but operating across multiple geographies and at larger fund size.

Direct peers

• Alpine Investors: Lower-middle-market PE firm specialized in search funds and small operating company buyouts, closely comparable to Tice Ventures' LBO-of-small-businesses model. Operates at meaningfully larger scale but pursues similar founder/seller transition theses.
• Pacific Lake Partners: Search-fund and ETA-focused PE investor backing first-time searchers acquiring small businesses. Closely mirrors Tice's thesis of acquiring well-run small businesses in the US with custom transition structures.
• Small Giant Capital: Search-fund-friendly PE firm investing in operators acquiring small US businesses. Direct competitor for the same seller demographic that Tice targets, with similar thesis around entrepreneurial operators and customized transitions.
• RangeWater Real Estate: Multifamily-focused real estate investor and developer active across the Southeast US. Closely comparable on the value-add multifamily and urban in-fill development thesis that Tice pursues in Charleston and surrounding markets.

Emerging players

• Bridge Capital (formerly Bridgepoint Search Funds): Specialized financing partner for search fund and ETA acquisitions of small US businesses. Comparable focus on the same small-LBO ecosystem Tice operates in, though positioned as a debt provider rather than principal acquirer.

Regional players

• Charleston Angel Partners: Charleston-based angel investor group funding local startups and small businesses in the same geography as Tice Ventures. Adjacent regional capital source competing for the same Charleston-area deal flow, though typically at earlier stages than LBOs.
• Fulcrum Equity Partners: Atlanta-based lower-middle-market PE firm investing in Southeast US businesses with founder transition focus. Comparable regional PE competitor with overlapping seller pipeline and similar business-acquisition thesis in the same geography as Tice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Tice Ventures