A Family Office's View From 27 Platforms
Kevin Wong, CIO of Lang Partners, shares insights on backing 27 independent sponsor platforms since 2020, evaluating soft skills, and building community in the lower-middle market.
Kevin Wong is the Chief Investment Officer at Lang Partners, a family office based in Dallas. With 15 years on the investment side of the lower-middle market, Kevin has built a reputation as one of the most active and respected LPs in the independent sponsor ecosystem, backing 27 platforms since 2020.
Minds Capital is an equity fund for independent sponsors. We invest $1-3m of equity per platform and average one commitment per month.
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Kevin Wong has been on the investment side in the lower-middle market for the past 15 years. After starting out in consulting & banking, he took a junior buy-side role helping source and evaluate deals, before he joined RLJ Equity Partners, a PE fund, where he gained exposure to the independent sponsor model. He took the helm at Jumana Capital, a Houston-based family office, before transitioning to Lang Partners, another Texas-based family office, where he serves as the Chief Investment Officer.
The first investment that Kevin Wong made at Lang Partners, on his first day, was into Service Star Inc., a fledgling home services roll-up by independent sponsor Niklas James in the summer of 2020. This also became Lang Partners' first independent sponsor exit recently. Kevin participated on the board of Service Star, and has built a close friendship with Niklas over the course of these years.
Lang Partners have supported 27 independent sponsor-led platforms to-date. The portfolio consists of yield investments for dividends (targeting ~15% IRR) and buy & builds for growth (targeting ~25% IRR). Lang Partners are well-known in the independent sponsor space, with a sweet spot equity check size of $5-7m (total range is $1-20m). They are especially diligent when it comes to evaluating the soft skills of the independent sponsors that they partner with, emphasizing that stakeholder alignment is the single most important quality.
Each year, Lang Partners hosts a glamorous full-day Outing in DFW for the independent sponsors in their portfolio. It's a high-end, high-touch get-together of like-minded peers, where community-building and horizontal education are key objectives.
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