Bain Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast With Vista’s Robert F. Smith. PART 1 PART 2

Case Study / Laying the Foundation for Long-Term Growth

Laying the Foundation for Long-Term Growth

Endorsements presented herein are made by current or former employees of Vista portfolio companies, over which Vista may have the ability to exercise discretion on employee compensation, promotion and other employment decisions.

SecureLink found an investment partner focused on producing lasting outcomes to support its future success.

Before the proliferation of wireless internet, technicians delivered remote support through telephone networks without fear of compromising their customers’ security. However, as businesses began to unplug their dial-up modems and rely on wireless connections, remote access was no longer secure. Jeff Swearingen co-founded SecureLink in 2003 to fill this gap in remote support security, establishing a foothold in the market ahead of the security software boom.

SecureLink helps companies in highly regulated industries like healthcare, financial services, legal and government to securely manage their third-party remote access. Its remote support platform ensures compliance and accountability while enabling enterprise technology vendors to connect with their customers’ software systems.

When considering private equity firms, Swearingen and his team were looking for a partner who aligned with their goals for the company, including values like “play to win” and “think long-term.” Vista’s drive to succeed, its pursuit of continuous improvement and in-depth knowledge of running a software business differentiated it from competing firms immediately.

Swearingen admits that he had reservations about private equity professionals, thinking that while many are well-educated, they lacked real business experience. However, he was instantly impressed with Vista’s detailed operational expertise. In his own words, “There’s no substitute for practice.” Vista’s track record of almost two decades of success set it apart in his eyes.

Swearingen describes the first nine months of working with the Vista team as building the foundation to scale the business. Together, they’ve made decisions that will produce long-term value and optimize SecureLink’s growth potential. The Value Creation Team has also worked with Swearingen and his team to align operations across the company and determine strategies that will continue to support the business as it scales.

SecureLink was a bootstrapped company until choosing a private equity partner, and Swearingen found immense value in Vista’s best practices, resources and CEO network. With a framework for understanding their performance against other successful Vista companies, both past and present, Swearingen and his team are pinpointing what SecureLink is doing well and what can be improved.

As he prepares to launch into the next phase of the company’s growth, with Vista, Swearingen believes there is no end zone, only endless opportunity.

Please see the “Case Studies” section of the Disclosures page for important information about these Case Studies.

Vista is willing to make an investment in things that will have an outcome next year, the year after and the year after that.

Jeff Swearingen, Co-Founder and Former CEO, SecureLink

Details

Year of Investment: 2017
Portfolio Status: Current
Headquarters: Austin, TX
Website: securelink.com

Enterprise software platform for third-party remote support in secure, regulated industries. 

SecureLink is a leader in remote support software for enterprise technology vendors and their customers in highly regulated industries. The Company’s secure, purpose-built platform serves over 30,000 organizations worldwide across a range of industries including healthcare, financial services, legal, government, gaming and retail.

SecureLink was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Austin, TX, with an office in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Vista Endeavor Fund acquired SecureLink in August 2017.

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