Acquired in 2020, this institutional B2B services platform demonstrated our approach: team preservation through crisis, vendor consolidation, geographic expansion through bolt-on M&A, and systematic operational improvement.
Regional educational services provider with 42-year operating history serving institutional customers across Wisconsin. Strong brand recognition, established school district relationships, high renewal rates. Founders ready to transition. Children not working in the business and pursuing other passions.
Investment Thesis:
Six weeks post-acquisition, COVID-19 shut down schools nationwide. Revenue collapsed over 50%. The business went from profitable to losing money in a single quarter.
Industry response: Mass layoffs, market exits, business closures.
Kept the full team through crisis. Zero layoffs. Redeployed staff to projects that could operate remotely. Maintained school district relationships. we wanted to be there when they reopened.
Secured federal support (PPP, EIDL). Consolidated vendor relationships. Used disruption to renegotiate supplier contracts on better terms.
Spent the recovery period learning what made the business work. Documented processes. Reduced founder dependency. Built transferable systems.
Recruited external talent to bring institutional expertise and discipline to the business. Won new business through improved execution.
Implemented programmatic M&A strategy, executing and integrating three bolt-on acquisitions. Same model, new markets. Proved we could enter adjacent geographies and replicate success.
Expanded beyond K-12 into adjacent institutional customers. Team grew through internal promotions. Distributed management equity to key contributors.
Business has matured. Three acquisitions integrated, management team strengthened, processes scaled. The next phase requires a broader footprint and additional bandwidth.
The exit created better outcomes for everyone: team gets resources to compete efectively, investors get strong returns, and we redeploy capital to the next platform where our impact is highest.
We identified 3-4 strategic buyers, prioritized cultural fit and team continuity, and selected the acquirer whose approach aligned with how we built the business. Clean exit structure, team stays employed with upside, business positioned for broader scale.
Selling when strong isn't giving up...it's recognizing when you've built something valuable enough that the right buyer can take it further.
Crisis Navigation - Conservative leverage allowed investment during disruption while competitors cut. Team preservation maintained capability for recovery.
Geographic Expansion - Replicated successful Wisconsin model in Illinois and Iowa through bolt-on M&A. Proved ability to enter new markets methodically.
Talent Development - Zero key leadership turnover. Internal promotions. Management equity created ownership mentality. Culture remained intact through growth.
Operational Improvement - Vendor consolidation, process documentation, talent upgrades. Professionalized operations without breaking what worked.
M&A Execution - Three acquisitions integrated without disrupting core business. Built platform for continued geographic expansion.
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