IN THENEWS

Throughout 2026, new member participants in the Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA) will keep it expanding. These new members also will give the current membership new opportunities for networking … in addition to optimizing support and partnerships … which leads to guidance and new ideas for Venture Capital, Private Equity and the support industries.

The latest new member is the firm of the Hughes & Company, which “invests in lower middle market healthcare software and technology-enabled service companies where we see the potential to create substantial value through revenue and EBITDA growth.”

The following is a Q&A profile with Hughes & Company, which explores the firm’s background and their expectations for interacting with the IVCA.

New Member: Hughes & Company
Representative: Jay Dave, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Compliance Officer

IVCA: What is a brief history of and background of Hughes & Company?

Hughes & Company: Hughes & Company is a Chicago-based, lower middle-market healthcare-focused private equity firm investing in software and technology-enabled services businesses. We were founded in 2011 by Travis Hughes as an independent sponsor and raised our first institutional fund in 2021, followed by a second fund in 2025, which closed with $260 million in capital commitments. From inception, we’ve been grounded in a hands-on, operator-oriented approach, working closely with management teams to build durable, scalable companies that address critical inefficiencies across the healthcare ecosystem

IVCA: Why did the firm decide to join the Illinois Venture Capital Association?

Hughes & Company: We joined the Illinois Venture Capital Association to deepen our relationships within the Illinois investment community and engage more meaningfully with fellow investors. As a Chicago-based firm, we value being part of a strong, connected network where ideas, insights, and experiences are shared. IVCA provides an important forum for collaboration and dialogue, and we look forward to building lasting relationships, contributing where we can, and learning from the broader venture and private equity community in Illinois.

IVCA: Your niche is lower middle market healthcare software and technology-enabled service companies. How are these industries evolving in 2026 and what changes to them are the firm anticipating in their acquisitions?

Hughes & Company: Healthcare software and technology-enabled services continue to evolve rapidly, and in 2026 much of the conversation centers around automation and AI-driven capabilities. We view AI as an important enabler, particularly in areas where manual workflows, administrative burden, and fragmented data have historically limited efficiency.

At the same time, we believe durable value creation is grounded in fundamentals. Customers are prioritizing solutions that deliver measurable ROI, integrate seamlessly into existing workflows, and address mission-critical pain points. They are becoming more selective, with longer sales cycles and increased vendor consolidation. As we evaluate new investments, we are focused on finding businesses that solve a real problem in a scalable, defensible way.

IVCA: In association to what the firm is pursuing, what is recognized as the challenges to American healthcare, and how can software and tech enablement help mitigate those challenges?

Hughes & Company: American healthcare continues to face structural challenges, including administrative complexity, fragmented data, rising costs, labor shortages, and misaligned incentives across stakeholders. These dynamics create inefficiencies that burden providers, payers, employers, and ultimately patients.

We believe technology can play a meaningful role in addressing these challenges by automating manual processes, improving coordination, increasing transparency, and enabling better decision-making. When thoughtfully designed and embedded into real workflows, healthcare software can help organizations operate more efficiently, allocate resources more effectively, and ultimately improve both financial and clinical outcomes.

IVCA: Your portfolio lists a variety of company platforms that streamline different types of healthcare circumstances. What is an example of the type of intervention Hughes & Company offers a company once you invest and partner with them?

Hughes & Company: We take a highly engaged, operator-oriented approach once we partner with a company. In addition to providing capital to support growth initiatives, we work closely with management to align on a clear value creation plan and prioritize the initiatives that will most meaningfully accelerate growth and strengthen the foundation of the business.

That often includes helping to recruit key executives, refining go-to-market strategy, sharpening product positioning, implementing KPI visibility and operating cadence, and supporting strategic add-on acquisitions when appropriate. Our goal is not to replace management, but to serve as a strategic thought partner, bringing structure, accountability, and experience to help companies scale in a disciplined and durable way.

IVCA:  Growth for a company is important to create value. What is an immediate process the firm uses to recognize opportunities for growth once a company is acquired?

Hughes & Company: Our process begins during diligence, where we assess the company’s most actionable growth levers through detailed analysis of customer health, go-to-market strategy, sales pipeline, product-market fit, and human capital. Following an investment, we refine those insights into a focused value creation roadmap aligned with management. We believe disciplined value creation starts with a clear understanding of where a business is already winning and where incremental focus can meaningfully accelerate growth.

We organize that work across our four pillars of value creation – Foundation for Growth, Product & Technology, Sales & Marketing, and Talent & Culture.

IVCA: What does Hughes & Company hope to achieve in their interaction with the VC/PE community within the IVCA?

Hughes & Company: We hope to build strong, lasting relationships within the Illinois VC/PE community and become an active, thoughtful participant in the dialogue shaping the local investment landscape. Hughes & Company is particularly interested in exchanging insights with fellow investors, sharing perspectives from our experience, and identifying opportunities for collaboration where it makes sense. We want to contribute to a healthy, connected ecosystem by supporting the growth of emerging managers and companies while continuing to learn from the depth of experience within the IVCA network.

For the website of Hughes & Company, click here.

---