Wolf&Grayson EditorialWhen Charles Covey launched Valorem Capital, he wasn’t simply building another investment firm, he was codifying decades of entrepreneurial expertise into a repeatable model for identifying overlooked, high-performing businesses. With a portfolio that stretches from fiber-optic contractors to specialized manufacturing firms, Covey has carved out a distinct role in a sector many investors bypass: blue-collar businesses.
“The space that we believe is the most wide open for opportunity right now is the blue-collar business space,” Covey says. These are companies quietly powering the economy, including plumbing, waste removal, construction, and specialized trade services. Many are led by aging founders with limited technology use but possess deeply loyal customer bases and consistent cash flows. “These businesses are the backbone of America,” Covey says. “They’re essential to how we live, and with just a few smart upgrades, they can become incredibly valuable.”
From Lawn Mower to Deal Maker
Covey’s entry into entrepreneurship began with a lawn mowing business at age seven. Since then, he has launched a dozen companies across a range of sectors, leading large teams of people and earning recognition as an Aggie 100 Award winner. “Entrepreneurship chose me, not the other way around,” he shares.
Over time, Covey honed a sharp eye for scalable operational systems, something that would prove vital in his current acquisition strategy. “We learned how to create systems, build efficiencies, and grow businesses at a high rate,” he explains. “It makes a lot of sense to apply that experience to buying businesses that already have momentum but need an injection of technology and procedures.”
A Precise Acquisition Strategy
At Valorem Capital, Covey insists on specificity. “You hear firms say they’re opportunistic. That basically means they haven’t narrowed down what they really want,” he says. “Being very specific and very dialed in is the best way to get to your goal.”
To that end, Covey and his team evaluate hundreds of companies each month, rejecting more than 99 percent of them. Their “buy box” is built around 15 tightly defined criteria, blending fundamentals of operational excellence with financial metrics. Key elements include companies with at least 10 years of operating history, located in high-growth U.S. markets, with retiring founders and scalable revenue-per-employee models. “We love older businesses—20, 30, even 40-year-old companies. They’ve weathered every type of economy,” says Covey.
The ideal target? A business with proven cash flows, minimal tech integration, and loyal employees likely to stay post-transaction. Valorem often structures deals to keep sellers on as minority partners and always seeks some level of seller financing as a confidence gauge. “If they don’t want to finance any of it, that tells us they’re not confident in how it’ll perform,” Covey explains.
Why Blue-Collar Is Built to Last
Unlike software startups vulnerable to obsolescence or disruption, the types of businesses Valorem acquires provide essential, physical services. “AI and Amazon can’t come in and replace these,” he says. “The trash still has to go to the dump, and someone has to take it there. That’s not going to change anytime soon.”
These businesses not only endure but often thrive during periods of economic volatility. One recent acquisition involved a 47-year-old fiber optic cable installation company sourced through a broker. Its nearly five-decade operating history gave Valorem the ability to model performance across economic cycles with high confidence. “They’ve been doing this for a very long time and we love that,” says Covey. “We can see what this business does in every type of recession, boom, or market cycle. We know exactly how it performs.”
That kind of longevity enables rigorous analysis. “We build a five-year, highly detailed model, test all the worst-case scenarios, and when it still holds up, that’s when we know it’s a good acquisition,” he says.
Leading with Empathy and Trust
Covey distinguishes Valorem from traditional private equity by emphasizing the human side of acquisitions. “You can’t come in as the new owner and dismiss everything that’s been built over the years,” he says. “That kind of approach is where many private equity firms run into trouble.”
Instead, his team takes a more thoughtful, people-first approach, working closely with employees and leadership to build trust before making changes. “Small changes with employee buy-in make a massive difference.” Introducing operational improvements, such as ERP systems or project management tools, only happens after trust is established. “It’s always better if it’s their idea,” Covey adds.
That same philosophy extends to founders, many of whom are handing over what may be their life’s work. “This is all the money they have in the world in many cases,” he says. “To remove the human elements of the transaction would be very short-sighted.”
Creating Generational Wealth on Both Sides
Valorem’s approach is not only preserving blue-collar legacies but also creating life-changing capital events. “These are, in many cases, tens of millions of dollars going to families who built something from nothing,” Covey says. “There’s tears, there’s crying, all from happiness. Wives ecstatic about getting their husbands back after he’s worked for the last three decades.”
Investors, too, are reaping substantial returns. “We’re building generational wealth by 2xing their money over five years,” says Covey. With monthly preferred returns and equity upside at exit, Valorem provides exposure to recession-resistant businesses in a model that combines steady income with long-term value creation.
Looking ahead, Covey is focused on niche, infrastructure-adjacent sectors: industries with high barriers to entry and dependable revenue streams. “That’s where we believe investor dollars are best protected,” he says. For Covey, though, the impact goes beyond financials. “My work feels like play to me. I don’t feel like I ever work a day,” he shares. “We’re not just buying companies. We’re helping families transition, keeping jobs in place, and building something that lasts. That’s the kind of work that makes it all worthwhile.”
To learn more, connect with Charles Covey on LinkedIn or visit his website.
