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Services
It happens to the best of us: running a business for several years and then hitting a period where growth slows and/or some other areas of the business are not going where we want to – and we are not sure how to make our way out of it. And we might not have the right advisors in place to help us. We feel your pain and we can help.
MKTGVentures provides hands on support from experienced industry leaders who have been there and done that. We bring fresh thinking and experienced perspectives that we overlay on to the current environment and provide new strategies, approaches and opportunities to grow and scale the business – and then we can help you execute them.
How We Help
Meeting with the Founder/CEO over the course of several months it became clear that there was a clear ambition to build a more scaled agency with an eye towards eventual exit but not a clear view on how to best do this. We are providing growth strategy, organizational strategy and support, leadership mentoring, and a “Board of Advisor” level of support for the company.
“MKTGVentures, and Reuben specifically, has become a trusted mentor and advisor to the agency. Reuben helped us clarify our value proposition, growth strategy and three-year plan. Both myself and several members of my leadership team have regular standing meetings to review initiatives and get advice. We also rely on disciplined quarterly meetings with Reuben to evaluate our progress and set go-forward priorities.”
--Founder and CEO
02
Strategic/Situational Leadership Assessment
At certain times in the life of a Private Equity sponsored company, the company might find itself at a crossroads:
• Do we have the right strategy?
• Are we sure we understand our competitive advantages?
• Are there any operations that could be optimized?
• Where is the market going?
• Do we have the right leadership in place, and are they positively positioned for the greatest leverage?
Case
A Private Equity firm purchased a medium-sized digital specialty agency [SEO] and then subsequently purchased a smaller agency with adjacent services. Now looking to evolve to a next generation of leadership, MKTGVentures was retained to provide a leadership team calibration as well as an operational assessment in addition to providing strategic recommendations for growth. Taking a total of 45 days with delivery of results as a presentation to the Portco PE BOD and team.
How We Help
MKTGVentures can conduct a quick, but thorough assessment of the situation and provide our perspectives and recommendations in as little as 45 days. Execution support for any changes that might be leveraged is then available.
"MKTGVentures was able to organize and execute a professional review of our operational data and spent two days on-site interviewing our senior leaders, including founders and the full complement of senior leadership. MKTGVentures provided a full presentation of results and recommendations to us in person and engaged in a very fulsome discussion. This information and perspective has been instrumental in our go-forward considerations for leadership, and the business”.
-- Managing Director, PE Firm
03
Growth Strategy & Execution
Sometimes organic growth for Portco services businesses fails to meet sponsors’ - and management’s - expectations. In these cases, a fresh look at growth strategy can be in order. At MKTGVentures, we are able to assess the situation and provide strategic guidance, and operational support to an evolved strategy of growth for the company. Critically, our perspective and approach is one of value creation in the context of an eventual exit, so that strategies are literally linked to improving the book value of the asset in a scalable way.
Case
A PE sponsor was several years into its ownership of an e-commerce development agency. It had already replaced the leadership team yet was still not achieving much net revenue growth to the business. In addition, due to its lack of success, and over-investment in the business, the sponsors were in a position to claim this investment as a loss without further support for the business.
How We Help
MKTGVentures was able to work through the positioning of the firm and determine several available paths to gain “break out” momentum for growth, leveraging a way to “productize” some services and making this highly appealing to an existing core software/technology partner selling licenses in the space. With the partner’s complete buy-in we were able to capture a key value proposition in the e-commerce marketplace [B2B Manufacturing vertical] and effectively turn our partner’s sales team into our sales team. We cracked through in the market, driving significant revenue growth and selling the company to a strategic buyer – this took 24 months from beginning to end. MKTGVentures was compensated on the transaction capital table providing significant investment and “skin in the game".
“Reuben was able to come into the situation and provide significant leadership, strategy, and executional support to turn around our investment and help us get to a successful exit!”
-- Managing Director, Private Equity
04
Exit Planning for Founders
Founders of independent agencies are often underserved and under-partnered – it is often a lonely job at the top and there are many questions to tackle. A key area where marketing and e-commerce service agency leaders tend to be under-supported is in the area of an eventual exit and liquidity event: “How does it work”, “How do I get there”, “When is the right time for me to think about this”, and “What do I need to know now, even though I am year’s away” are many conversations that we have with Founder/Owner/CEOs.
We find that many Founder/Owner/CEOs could use some advice, some counsel, some partnership, and someone to talk to and test hypotheses. We often structure a light “check-in” cadence that CEOs find helpful. As this relationship develops and trust is gained this can deepen to include serving as a “Board Member” type of resource for the leader, and even the management team.
Case
Several sub $10MM digital agencies where we review financials and provide a sounding board and counsel on a monthly basis. Low preparation and short one hour meeting allows us to help monitor progress and provide light guidance.
05
Buy Side M&A Strategy
Given our deep knowledge of the Marketing and CX industry MKTGVentures can support clients with an acquisition strategy and M&A process.
Case
Worked with a medium size e-commerce services agency that was looking to add scale by purchasing a like-size agency and integrating the two agencies. MKTGVentures initiated conversations and negotiations with potential candidates. MKTGVentures led the strategic and financial thesis creation, proposed Enterprise Value (EV) structure for the agency, and led all negotiations with the sell side banker. MKTGVentures managed the Letter of Intent process and due diligence for the buyer.
“I have known MKTGVentures for several years and have established a strong relationship with Reuben and the team. Reuben has provided coaching and perspective and was able to provide invaluable support to me and my team during the acquisition process – this acquisition has changed my business and we look forward to continue using Reuben as a critical mentor in our efforts to build a bigger and scaled business.”
-- Founder and Owner E-commerce Agency
06
Sell Side Advisory for Founders
There are certain situations where it makes sense for our advisory clients to leverage our collective M&A experience and capabilities to support a full sell-side process of their firm. A narrow window between $2MM and $5MM of EBITDA is a good indicator of where our process is most successful. Needing a world-class level of buyer access, strategy, professionalism and CLIENT CENTRICITY. For a reasonable fee.
Case
For a highly profitable but smaller e-commerce agency, MKTGVentures was able to conduct a full analysis of the market situation and develop a large list of potential buyers. We then reached out to all parties and achieved a high level of response to our outreach to potential buyers and engaged in several meaningful conversations. MKTGVentures prepared world-class buyer outreach and information for prospective buyers as well as managed all interactions between the seller and interested parties. Ultimately it was determined to pursue a different strategy for the seller with who we continue to work as a principal advisor For larger companies (greater than $5MM in Ebitda) we work with Palazzo Investment Bank for our sell-side clients.,
"Reuben was able to provide me with a great view of the potential buyer universe and the acquisition opportunities. He led a process that was very professional and where I had many great, serious conversations with potential buyers. We had some internal issues that had us pause our process but I continue to work with MKTGVentures in other ways and look forward to having MKTGVentures lead a sell-side process for us when the time is right.”
-- CEO, E-commerce Agency