Spectrum Insights| August 2024
2024 Mid-Year Update
We’re pleased to share an update on the first half of 2024. It’s been a productive year across the portfolio, including two new investments and multiple liquidity events. Operating performance has been healthy, and our management teams have been busy executing value creation initiatives, recruiting new members of their leadership teams and boards, and pursuing attractive acquisitions.
We’re also celebrating seven internal promotions, nine new hires to our investment team, and a number of industry awards.
Below is a summary of our activity from the first half of the year.
New Investments
1. Spectrum Continues Partnership with CINC; Hg Joins as Strategic Investor
CINC Systems (“CINC”), a leading cloud-based software company serving the community association management sector, today announced it has secured a strategic growth investment from Hg, a leading investor in European and North American software and services businesses. Read the press release.
2. TO BE ANNOUNCED: Web user experience research and intelligence platform
Liquidity Events
1. CINC Systems: Recapitalization - Read the press release.
2. Membersy: Sponsor-backed strategic sale - Read the press release.
3. GoodRx: Company share repurpose
4. Jimdo: Company share repurpose
Mergers and Aquisitions
1. Benchmark Mineral Acquires Rho Motion
The company’s first major acquisition significantly expands its lithium, battery supply chain and energy transition platform. Read the press release.
2. Lighthouse Acquires Stardekk
The merger will create a unified technology platform, combining Lighthouse’s data and artificial intelligence with Stardekk’s distribution reach, offering hoteliers unprecedented dynamic channel optimization. Read the press release.
3. Lighthouse Acquires HQ Revenue
This acquisition brings together two leading hospitality technology providers and will accelerate investment and innovation for existing HQ revenue and Lighthouse customers. Read the press release.
4. OurFamilyWizard Acquires FamilyWall
Portfolio events & headlines
Unpacking the PLG Motion with Bitly and Lucid Software
As part of Spectrum’s virtual workshop series, Lucid CCO Nick Rico and Bitly CPO & CTO Kelsey Stevenson recently compared notes on their PLG journeys: wins, learnings, and how’d they advise other companies to get started. Read the write-up.
Inc: Otter Launches AI Product to Take the Time-Suck out of Meetings
AI’s varied benefits are touted constantly, but the obvious business boost of Otter.ai’s new meetings chatbot really makes its case. Read the coverage in Inc.
AllTrails in the New York Times: Boots, Backpack, and a Ubiquitous App
Fourteen years and one Apple App of the Year award in, AllTrails has become something rare: a tool that works for both experts and newbies. Read the NYT article.
SavvyMoney Named to Inc.'s Annual List of Best Workplaces
SavvyMoney has been named to Inc.’s annual Best Workplaces list. Prominently featured on Inc.com, the list results from a comprehensive measurement of American companies that have excelled in creating exceptional workplaces and company cultures, whether in a physical or a virtual facility. Read the press release.
Zenworks Tax1099.com Sets Industry Benchmark with Launch of AI Tax Assist
This monumental move is set to redefine the tax filing experience, providing users with immediate access to IRS-sourced answers, 24/7 customer support, transactional functions, and much more. Read the press release.
Recruiting highlights
We completed 23 senior executive hires and 2 board appointments across 17 companies, including:
- Jonathan Reed as Chief Revenue Officer of Benchmark Mineral
- Kylee Hall as VP of Marketing at B-Stock
- John Schoenstein as Chief Revenue Officer of Customer.io
- Catherine Wang as CMO of Kajabi
- Corey Scobey as CTO of SavvyMoney
Organizational highlights
This year, we are welcoming five new Analysts and four new Associates to our investment team.
We are also thrilled to announce several promotions across the investment team: Philip Rasansky to VP, Anna Yu to Senior Associate, and Georgina Davis, Andrew Rozanov, Charlie Sharton, and Ohad Yahalom to Associate.
Firm awards
Spectrum Named #3 Performer on HEC Paris-DowJones 2024 List
This performance-driven award reflects the firm’s distinctive returns over many cycles. Rankings are based on an analysis of performance between 2010 and 2019, comparing 279 funds from 106 growth capital firms. Read the write-up.
Spectrum Equity’s Steve LeSieur and Jeff Haywood Named 2024 Top GrowthCap Healthcare Investors
Spectrum Equity’s Jeff Haywood and Steve LeSieur have been named #3 on GrowthCap’s overall top health investors for 2024. Read the write-up.
Spectrum Equity Named a Top Growth Equity Firm of 2023
This year, Spectrum is proud to be named to GrowthCap’s Top Growth Equity firms for 2023 — a recognition not just of our success, but of the relationships, innovations, and hard work that fuel it. Read the write-up.
Spectrum VPs Recognized as Top Women Leaders in Growth Investing by GrowthCap
Annaliesa Routh and Emily Calkins are the definition of leadership for us: they ask questions that challenge our thinking, they approach their partnerships with portfolio leaders with rigor and humility, and they always have time for their teammates. Read the write-up.
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