Highlights From Our Recent Event : “Unique Insights into Alternative Fundraising and M&A Exits”

Navidar recently sponsored an event with the Austin chapter of TiE (austin.tie.org) that focused on providing unique insights into alternative fundraising and M&A exits. The standing-room-only event featured two panel discussions as well as a keynote presentation by Katie May, CEO of ShippingEasy, which was recently acquired by Stamps.com (NASDAQ:STMP) for $65M in 2016. In this note, we provide a high-level summary of t his insightful event.

Alternative Fundraising Panel

Our all-star panelist lineup was comprised of the following individuals.

Jeff Estes, Manager, MicroVentures. The firm has invested $100M in 100 companies since 2011 with various funding solutions, including crowdfunding. MicroVentures focuses on early stage seed through Series A investments. About 60% of its historical investments have been in business-to-business companies and the remaining 40% in business-to-consumer. www.microventures.com

Mike Smerklo, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Next Coast Ventures. Mr. Smerklo’s firm provides Series A and B growth equity to technology companies. Founded in 2015, its $90M fund has already made 10 investments. www.nextcoastventures.com

Vik Thaper, Principal, Cypress Growth. This alternative form of funding lends debt based on recurring revenue. Cypress looks for companies with a recurring-revenue run rate of $3-20M with an investor base that does not include venture capitalists. The firm was founded in 2010 and has more than $100M of capital under management. www.cypressgrowth.com

Robert Sureck, Senior Market Manager, Silicon Valley Bank. The bank provides venture debt, lending up to 3-5x monthly recurring revenue and
always invests alongside venture capitalists. SVB has 27 domestic and seven global offices. www.svb.com

Ashish Thakur, Executive Director, Atlanta CEO Council, which empowers local CEOs to excel by connecting them to their most valuable resource: each other. Mr. Thakur was the moderator for this panel. www.atlantaceo.org

M&A Exits Panel

Our M&A Exits panel was comprised of individuals with expertise in various aspects of the deal process.

Stephen Day, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Navidar. An investment banking firm focused on technology companies based in the middle corridor of the United States. Navidar principals have completed more than 300 transactions representing transaction volume of nearly $70 billion in M&A and capital raising, for both private and public companies, over the past 20 years. www.navidar.com

Scott Craig, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The firm provides a broad range of services and legal disciplines, including mergers and acquisitions. www.wsgr.com

Lathrop Smith, Partner, Maxwell Lock and Ritter. As the largest locally owned and managed accounting firm in Central Texas, it has offices in downtown Austin and Round Rock.  www.mlrpc.com

Lou Agnese, SVP, RetailMeNot. The company is a leading savings destination connecting consumers with retailers, restaurants and brands, both online and in-store. RetailMeNot is in the process of being acquired by Harland Clarke for $630M. www.retailmenot.com

Tejas Vakil, CEO, FinanceGenius. Mr. Vakil was the moderator for this panel. FinanceGenius provides a leading SaaS solution that helps lenders capture and process more loans without adding more staff by improving the consumer lending process for both the borrower and the lender. financegenius.com

Keynote Presentation

Katie May, CEO of ShippingEasy spoke about lessons she learned during her successful career as an entrepreneur and investor. The topics she touched were gleaned from the following experiences.

 

About Navidar Holdco LLC

Navidar Holdco LLC, with a presence in Austin, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and San Antonio, is an investment banking firm that provides businesses and investors in dynamic industries with strategic merger and acquisition advice, capital raising solutions and corporate advisory services. The firm focuses on SaaS software, eCommerce & Internet, IT and engineering services, specialty manufacturing, and health care information technology companies. Navidar principals have completed more than 300 transactions representing transaction volume of nearly $70 billion in M&A and capital raising, for both private and public companies, over the past 20 years. To learn more about Navidar, please visit www.Navidar.com.

Disclaimer

Certain statements in this Report (the “Report”) may be “Forward-looking” in that they do not discuss historical facts but instead note future expectations, projections, intentions, or other items relating to the future. We caution you to be aware of the speculative nature of forward-looking statements as these statements are not guarantees of performance or results.

Forward-looking statements, which are generally prefaced by the words “may,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “believe,” “will,” “plan,” “project,” “intend” and similar terms, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other facts that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements.

We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed might not occur.

This Report has been prepared solely for informational purposes and may not be used or relied upon for any purpose other than as specifically contemplated by a written agreement with us.

This Report is not intended to provide the sole basis for evaluating, and should not be considered a recommendation with respect to, any transaction or other matter. This Report does not constitute an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any securities or other financial product, to participate in any transaction or to provide any investment banking or other services, and should not be deemed to be a commitment or undertaking of any kind on the part of Navidar Holdco LLC (“Navidar”) or any of its affiliates to underwrite, place or purchase any securities or to provide any debt or equity financing or to participate in any transaction, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, to make any investment or to participate in any transaction or trading strategy.

Although the information contained in this Report has been obtained or compiled from sources deemed reliable, neither Navidar nor any of the Company affiliates make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein and nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied upon as, a promise or representation whether as to the past, present or future performance. The information set forth herein may include estimates and / or involve significant elements of subjective judgment and analysis. No representations are made as to the accuracy of such estimates or that all assumptions relating to such estimates have been considered or stated or that such estimates will be realized. The information contained herein does not purport to contain all of the information that may be required to evaluate a participation in any transaction and any recipient hereof should conduct its own independent analysis of the data referred to herein. We assume no obligation to update or otherwise revise these materials.

Navidar does and seeks to do business with companies covered in Navidar Research. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of Navidar Research.

Navidar and its affiliates do not provide legal, tax or accounting advice. Prior to making any investment or participating in any transaction, you should consult, to the extent necessary, your own independent legal, tax, accounting and other professional advisors to ensure that any transaction or investment is suitable for you in the light of your financial capacity and objectives.