Exits are like the weather. Angels all talk about them, but few of us do anything
specific.
Except for the Launchpad Venture Group of Wellesley,
MA, which has just negotiated an exclusive sponsorship from Signal Hill, the
largest independent advisory boutique serving the M&A advisory and private
capital raising needs of growth companies.
“We think they are a good bank, “says Launchpad
Managing Director Christopher Mirabile. “They did good work with us on selling
Incentive Targeting to Google. We want access to their skills for advising
and developing our portfolio companies and educating our members and our board
delegates. They want to raise their visibility in the early stage space
and be in a good position to get involved in interesting M&A deals.
It's like peanut butter and jelly, a match made in heaven.”
Signal Hill describes its sponsorship of Launchpad as
part of an overall commitment to help business leaders achieve organizational
growth and meet their goals, whether it’s through the traditional
advisor/client relationship or through providing guidance and support within a
community. Signal Hill’s investment professionals will act as mentors to
Launchpad’s portfolio, drawing on past client and transaction experience, in
order to lead information and learning sessions.
“We're honored to have been invited to be
Launchpad's exclusive investment banking sponsor,” said Alex Hart, Managing
Director and Head of Signal Hill’s Boston office, “It is a tremendous
organization that has shown a continued ability to help start and build
best-in-class technology companies. As a close partner of theirs, we are
excited to work with their investors and entrepreneurs to help drive the growth
and success of their portfolio companies.”
Asked if Signal Hill has similar relationships with
other angel groups, Liz Schmidt replies: “At this point, we do not. This
is potentially something we are open to in the future.”
Launchpad is well known to readers of this
publication. The most recent HALO report
shows them as the third most active angel investing group in the US. More information on the sale of Incentive Targeting
to Google can be found here. Two other recent exits are here. Launchpad is very active in deal syndication;
ZetrOZ for $4.5M and Groupize for $2M
respectively are here.
"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to
formalize our relationship with Signal Hill,” said Christopher Mirabile,
co-Managing Director of Launchpad. “They bring deep expertise to the process of
selling companies and, in fact, were instrumental in the sale of one of our
portfolio companies to Google last year. We look forward to working with them
and having access to their team of knowledgeable professionals across the
United States."
About Signal Hill
Signal Hill is the largest independent advisory
boutique serving the M&A advisory and private capital raising needs of
growth companies. Signal Hill's experienced bankers provide deep domain
expertise and an unyielding commitment to clients in our sectors: Internet
& Digital Media, Internet Infrastructure, Services and Software. With over
500 completed transactions and offices in Baltimore, Bangalore, Boston,
Nashville, New York, Reston and San Francisco, Signal Hill leverages deep
strategic industry and financial sponsor relationships to help our clients
achieve Greater Outcomes®. For more information, visit www.signalhill.com.
About Launchpad Venture Group
Launchpad Venture Group is a Boston-based angel
investment group that provides funding to early-stage companies. We are looking
for innovative, technology-driven startup companies addressing a significant
market opportunity where our investment can make a difference. We introduce
entrepreneurs to potential investors through business plan presentations at
monthly meetings. Launchpad Venture Group consists of individual angel investor
members interested in achieving superior returns by financing privately held
companies at an early stage of development. Learn more at www.launchpadventuregroup.com.
