JumpStart Partners has worked with
over 60 companies in a variety of shapes and sizes, including: IBM,
Royal Dutch / Shell Oil, CenterPoint Energy, Vivendi / Dalkia, JFI,
Direct Energy and a large number of mid-market companies. We find that our
expertise is helping clients who find themselves in one (or more) of
these situations:
- Divisions of Fortune 500
companies seeking to explore growth through mergers,
acquisitions, or strategic partnerships.
-
Divisions of Fortune 500
companies exploring a divestiture of a non-core business.
- Companies transitioning
business models.
- Corporate expansions into new
markets, unique product lines, or spin-offs.
REPRESENTATIVE
CASE STUDIES
- Growth Stage, Energy Technology
Firm in the Western US
- Business Process Outsourcing
Company in the Southwestern US
- Customer-Direct, Energy Firm in
the Southwestern US
- Consumer Services,
Technology-Related Company in the Midwestern US
- Global 50 Firm, New Venture
Division
- Consulting Company in the
Southwestern US
Growth Stage, Energy Technology Firm in the Western US:
Need: The lead outside investor & board of directors
sought an independent organization to investigate the possibility of
(and subsequently complete) a strategic alliance/ M&A
opportunity that would position the company to play a leading role
in the industry’s future evolution and consolidation.
JSP’s Solution:
- Completed
an independent and critical review of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities & threats.
- Created
a business development plan focused on leveraging the
company’s core competencies, and a resource
enhancement/partnership plan to address the gaps in the
company’s solution.
- Gathered
primary research and direct feedback from 60 companies in the
market who overlapped the firm’s solution.
- Evaluated
the firm’s potential options, resulting in a decision to
primarily pursue an M&A strategy.
- Obtained
seven (7) letters of intent (LOIs) from potential M&A
candidates.
- Analyzed
and negotiated the seven LOIs, resulting in three detailed
memorandums of understanding (MOUs).
- Successfully
completed & closed a transaction with an industry leader.
Benefits: The company was acquired by a sizable market player
for a valuation far in excess of the lead investor’s expectation.
Business Process Outsourcing Company in the Southwestern US:
Need: The CEO wanted to find a way to grow the business
into additional vertical markets and scale beyond their existing
“word-of-mouth” customer base.
JSP’s Solution:
- Completed
an independent and critical review of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities & threats.
- Analyzed
the firm’s profit margin by customer segment, and then
redirected the company’s efforts towards the niche with the
most profitable clients.
- Created
a business development/channel partner strategy and department
to support the company’s new focus area.
- Developed
a more complete high-end offering matrix based on internal
resources and newly signed channel partners.
- Improved
corporate profit margins by over 5.5x.
- Assisted
in the hire of a full time Vice-President of Marketing to
continue and grow these business development activities.
- Recruited
Board of Advisors members to help monitor, govern and grow the
firm.
- Served
as a strategic advisor to determine the most advantageous
structure, process and timing for a liquidation event.
- Assisted
in the acquisition of the firm by one of the company’s
business development partners for a substantial premium
over expected value.
Benefits: Revenues increased by over 250%.
Profit margins improved by over 500%.
The company was acquired by one of its business development
partners, resulting in substantial liquidity to the shareholders.
Customer-Direct, Energy Firm in the Southwestern US:
Need: The CEO/President needed an outside organization to
assist the company in improving their sales & marketing process,
closing rate and corporate profitability.
JSP’s Solution:
- Completed
an independent and critical review of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities & threats.
- Changed
the existing marketing program to include a new, compelling
unique selling proposition and headline message.
- Improved
initial customer contact by 250% within five months.
- Improved
customer closings by 410% within five months.
- Identified
$25,000/month of additional profit through process improvements.
- Assisted
in the transition to a full-time resource to manage the newly
created marketing process.
Benefits: JSP’s activities resulted in over $40,000/month of
additional profit to the firm.
Consumer Services, Technology-Related Company in the
Midwestern US:
Need: The Board of Directors & primary outside investor
sought an independent change agent to improve margins, growth,
management accountability, and corporate focus.
JSP’s Solution:
- Completed
an independent and critical review of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities & threats.
- Developed
a new management compensation program resulting in improved
focus and clarity.
- Created
a reporting structure that relayed key issues to the management
team and board of directors and improved the cycle time for
executive decisions by 80%.
- Launched
a new marketing program based on a compelling unique selling
proposition.
- Improved
the top two leading sales indicators by 214% and 254% within
five months.
- Improved
sales by 285% within five months.
- Identified
and implemented cost reductions of over $40,000 per month.
Benefits: JSP’s activities resulted in over a $100,000/month
EBITDA improvement within five months.
Global 50 Firm, New Venture Division:
Need: An Executive Vice-President was tasked to oversee a
team that would deploy $100M in capital to fulfill a dual role of:
1) Achieving a strong IRR, 2) Investing in technologies that could
bring value to the parent company.
He needed to augment his team with additional resources in
the Southwestern US to achieve the division’s metrics.
JSP’s Solution:
- Provided
an “outsourced” entrepreneur/VC-in-residence program at a
fraction of the cost of hiring a full team.
- Directly
sourced in excess of 325 investment opportunities within 14
months; six completed investment memorandum transactions.
- Provided
introductions and first meetings with 75 private equity and
relevant stakeholder firms in the region to build the fund’s
market exposure in the region.
- Supplied
deal-experienced professionals to assist with investment
transactions including: valuations, financial modeling, M&A
procedures, and business & market analysis.
- Utilized
domain experts in relevant sub-sectors to validate
opportunities, and mentor and coach the fund in refining their
strategy.
- Supplied
corporate governance, direct managerial expertise, and executive
resources for portfolio companies.
Benefits: The corporate investment division was rated “well
above” corporate expectations, received full bonuses, and achieved
all of their internal metrics.
Consulting Company in the Southwestern US:
Need: The CEO wanted strategic assistance and extra
resources in “launching” a new business development division
centered on a potential relationship with a large strategic partner.
JSP’s Solution:
- Completed
an independent and critical review of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities & threats for both the company and potential
partnership.
- Developed
a comprehensive business development plan centered around the
company’s strengths, the potential partner’s strengths, the
gaps in the marketplace and near-term actions required to create
a successful relationship.
- Assisted
in the partnership negotiations to create a win-win and provide
our client with the primary elements they needed to scale their
company.
- Identified
and secured two beta customers to build initial momentum for the
relationship.
- Developed
the process for managing and growing the relationship between
the two companies.
Benefits: The strategic partner is currently providing in
excess of 25% of the company’s total revenues, and the
relationship is following the exact model created and negotiated by
the JSP team.
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