Bootstrap Capital

John Honney, managing partner of Bootstrap Capital, has moved to the Denver area and is actively working on investment opportunities along the front range of Colorado.

The decision to leave Chicago after more than 20 years was a difficult one. The people of Chicago and throughout Illinois are among the best in the world and the city is the most livable major city in the country.

But, there are certainly issues that are causing a net loss of 161 people per day, according to this Bloomberg article. And, as Bootstrap Capital became involved in more and more opportunities in the Denver metro area, relocating to the area became an imperative.

John’s phone number remains the same, but please note his new address:

7742 S. Eudora Ct. / Centennial, CO 80122

Please let us know when you are in town.

John Honney, managing partner of Bootstrap Capital and individual investors have partnered with the management team of O&W Communications (OWCommunications.com) to acquire the business from its second generation owner-operators.  O&W is a full service dealer of safety, security and communications systems with a loyal customer base throughout much of Wisconsin.

The company traces its roots to a TV antenna installation business founded in 1949 by Phil Oostdyke and Roger Wilke.  Over the years, the company’s service offerings and products have changed substantially, but its focus on customer service has never wavered.  Today, the company takes pride in being the state’s preferred provider of low voltage systems, such as fire alarm, telephone, public address, nurse call, door access and video surveillance systems.

Kevin Sander, President of O&W, stated that the company is extremely well-positioned for growth throughout Wisconsin.  “We have tremendous employees.  Our technicians are extremely competent, and the other team members are all incredibly talented.  Everyone is laser focused on customer service.  With these people and the outstanding products and brands we represent, there are few limitations on what we can do.”

Tim Arnoldi, VP of Safety and Security, added, “I’ve been here for more than 20 years and have never seen the team so energized.  The new ideas and investment brought in by Bootstrap are right on target.  We are all excited about the future.”

“The transition to the new ownership group has been smooth,” said Todd Kuehl, VP of Telecommunications.  “The new owners have partnered with us, just as we partner with our customers.  Given their approach, I am confident we will deliver an even better level of service for years to come.”

About O&W Communications

Based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, O&W Communications traces its roots to 1949, when Peter Oostdyke and Roger Wilke founded a TV antenna installation business.  As the market opportunities changed, so did the company, first adding sound systems and later business telephone systems to its offerings.  Today, the company takes pride in being the state’s preferred provider of low voltage systems, such as fire alarm, telephone, public address, nurse call, door access and video surveillance systems.

The company represents best-in-class products from the industry’s leading OEMs, including Notifier by Honeywell, Valcom, NEC, biamp., Rcare and Open Options, as well as many others.

About Bootstrap Capital

Bootstrap Capital is a Denver-based private equity firm that respects the accomplishments of bootstrapping entrepreneurs and seeks to honor their legacies. The firm grows the companies they built and celebrates the legend of how they built them.  It acquires and operates small business services and distribution companies at a time in their evolution when they could benefit from a change in ownership. Bootstrap Capital’s approach is to build its portfolio deliberately, providing day-to-day leadership for an extended period of time after making an acquisition, thereby providing turnkey succession plans for owners seeking to retire.

Chicago, IL – January 2, 2018

Bootstrap Capital, a private investment company, and Matthew Wezner have acquired the assets of Veri-Logic, LLC from its founder Bob Hanson.  Now operating as VeriLogic Solutions, LLC, the company is an automation technology integrator that specializes in designing and implementing product genealogy tracking solutions for manufacturers.

Founded in 1989, the company has a long history of providing integrated hardware and software solutions that improve product tracking, quality assurance and product recall efforts in a broad range of industries, including the food, beverage and other packaged goods sectors.

Matt Wezner, president of VeriLogic Solutions, commented, “Bob built a terrific company with fantastic people who work with some of the most sophisticated companies in the world.  I look forward to building on this great legacy and introducing the company to many new customers.”

“After working with Matt Wezner and the Bootstrap team, I am excited about the new business opportunities and growth potential we have,” said Tim Mathieu, VeriLogic Solution’s senior engineer.  “It’s great to know that the company’s values, especially its dedication to the success of customers and employees alike, will continue in the tradition that Bob created.”

“I’m excited to be working with Matt to build VeriLogic into an even greater company.  Matt and I have worked together in other business ventures and I have a lot of confidence in him as an entrepreneur and business leader,” said John DeBlasio, Managing Director of Bootstrap Capital.  “The team at VeriLogic does great work for its customers and we want to make sure they have everything they need to keep doing just that.”

About VeriLogic Solutions

Since 1989, VeriLogic has been on the forefront of industrial identification and product tracking solutions.  Since its inception, the company has provided a completely customized product identification solution that seamlessly integrates and interfaces with existing warehouse management and enterprise systems.  The company’s ability to integrate hardware and software into comprehensive, yet affordable, solutions distinguishes VeriLogic Solutions from the competition and is the reason that it continues to be a valuable supplier to both Fortune 500 and middle market companies.

About Bootstrap Capital

Bootstrap Capital is a Chicago-based private equity firm that respects the accomplishments of bootstrapping entrepreneurs and seeks to honor their legacies. The firm grows the companies they built and celebrates the legend of how they built them.  It acquires and operates small business services and distribution companies at a time in their evolution when they could benefit from a change in ownership.

Bootstrap Capital’s approach is to build its portfolio deliberately, providing day-to-day leadership for an extended period of time after making an acquisition, thereby providing turnkey succession plans for owners seeking to retire.  The firm works with founders who are striving for the next wave of growth and can help right the ship when a company has gotten off course.

Friday After Thanksgiving

A nonprofit with which I occasionally volunteer is organizing a trip to Houston in February to help Hurricane Harvey victims.  By then, the headlines will have faded, but the building inspectors will finally be making significant headway in determining which homes are habitable and which ones will need to be torn down.  Only after this critical step can homeowners begin the hard work of rebuilding their houses.

I love how the organization is referring to this service initiative.  It’s calling this effort Friday After Thanksgiving to capture the notion that the hard work of serving communities continues unabated the day after all the organized and well publicized volunteer events on our nation’s official day for gratitude.

What’s this have to do with M&A?

The idea that the hard work continues after the special events and photo ops are over is amazingly applicable to Bootstrap Capital’s investment approach.  We take a Friday After Thanksgiving approach with our portfolio companies insofar as our work to develop and grow them begins the day after closing.  This approach is fundamental to how we honor the legacies of the entrepreneurs who founded our companies and how we build the foundations for their continued success.

The acquisition is not our endgame; the press release is not our goal; the canned kudos from our LinkedIn colleagues are not our objective.  Only when we focus on the blocking and tackling of developing our companies do we eventually achieve our targeted results.  Our experience is that, given the limited resources of the small companies that we buy, there is simply more work to do than our CEOs can accomplish on their own.  As a result, it is imperative that we roll up our sleeves and collaborate with them.

Real Life Examples

It’s been several months since we released one of these email blogs, as marketing took a back seat to working with the companies we own.  During the summer and fall, we were busy closing the acquisition of our second portfolio company, VeriLogic Solutions (www.veri-logic.com) and tackling several Friday After Thanksgiving initiatives at our first portfolio company, Clear Automation (www.clearautomation.com).

Since we acquired Clear Automation almost a year and a half ago, the business has grown more than 50%, undertaken an ERP installation, forged a strategic alliance with an innovative robotic equipment design firm in Europe, purchased the real estate where it operates and added incremental debt financing.  In order to get all of these initiatives done, the principals of Bootstrap Capital have had to provide day-to-day leadership for several of them.

​We understand the importance of a Friday After Thanksgiving mentality and are committed to supporting the management teams at our portfolio companies.  In fact, we view the “lunch bucket” operational assistance we provide as an integral element of our lower middle market investment strategy.

Bootstrap Capital

If you are aware of business owners who would like to sell their companies, please consider introducing them to Bootstrap Capital.  We are keenly in tune with the issues business leaders face when they decide to sell their companies, as well as many other nuances of transacting in the lower middle market.  Bootstrap Capital is a patient counterparty that can be a constructive partner in helping sellers through the sale process.  And, after the sale, we actively participate in the work required to honor the legacies of our companies’ former owners and to build the companies we acquire.