Case Study
WolfePak Software (PakEnergy Software)
Location:
Abilene, TX
Sector:
Software
Date Acquired:
Exit Date:
Brent Rhymes
Former CEO, WolfePak Software
"I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Fort Point as the CEO of two of their portfolio companies, WolfePak Software (now d/b/a PakEnergy) and now, Strata Information Group. Their thoughtful approach to taking very good businesses and making them even better is inspiring. When I was CEO of WolfePak, they invested behind the creation of a sales and marketing engine to drive organic growth, the introduction of new product modules and the build-out of our management team, enabling accelerated growth and scalability of the business, and provided excellent M&A support."
Situation
WolfePak is a leading provider of accounting and regulatory compliance software solutions to Oil and Gas producers and distributors. Fort Point was initially introduced to the Company in late 2014, during a sale process which the owner ultimately decided not to pursue. Fort Point maintained a relationship with the founder over the following 15 months and demonstrated FPC’s ability to be a value-added partner. When the founder was ready to sell, Fort Point was well-positioned as the preferred prospective buyer, precluding the need to initiate an auction process.
Our Role
Fort Point Capital completed the recapitalization in 2016, acquiring a majority stake in partnership with the founder and existing management team. We subsequently supported the business to professionalize the organization and infrastructure, expand the product suite, facilitate the migration toward a SaaS model, fund follow-on acquisitions, and build a formal sales & marketing strategy.
Senior Management Team
- Helped to transition WolfePak from a founder-led organization to a professional management team, recruiting a new CEO, COO, CTO, and Sales Manager.
- Recruited three outstanding independent directors with relevant industry and functional expertise.
Product Suite Development
- Worked with management to develop a detailed product roadmap and implement product module expansion, including dashboard reporting and real-time information (including well information) through the release of WolfePak Analytics in 2017.
- Executed three add-on acquisitions to expand software offering and customer base, adding high value-add applications such as WolfePak Pumper, WolfePak Mobile, LandPro, and DocVue.
Developed Formal Sales & Marketing Strategy
- Worked with management to introduce sales process improvements and marketing initiatives including Salesforce.com, pipeline tracking, value-added reseller partnerships, as well as website and branding upgrades.
- Identified an experienced marketing manager to implement strategy of leveraging partnerships with current first purchaser customers to generate pipeline prospects.
SaaS & Infrastructure
- Migrated the company’s SaaS customers to the cloud, converting contracts from month-to-month to annual contracts with automatic renewal provisions.
- Upgraded software security features and enabled automatic version updates and support.
Results
During Fort Point’s ownership, WolfePak completed three add-on acquisitions, introduced five new product modules, and developed a sales & marketing engine generating 20%+ organic growth per annum. In just over three years, WolfePak successfully doubled annual recurring software revenue as a result of solidifying the Company’s SaaS model. In October 2019, Fort Point Capital sold WolfePak to Charlesbank Technology Opportunities Fund, a managed fund of Charlesbank Capital Partners.