Growth Street is excited to announce the sale of Visual Lease to CoStar (NASDAQ: CSGP). Read more here. 

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We provide founders of rapidly growing SaaS and technology-enabled services companies with a unique balance of capital and help.

Scale your sales & marketing, hire your first professional executives, better leverage your systems and processes, adopt best practices, expand your addressable market, and even acquire a competitor or complementary business.

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We’re current investing out of our second fund ($130 million) and manage over $200 million of fully-committed capital.

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Founders lived the problem the business is now solving
Growth Street as a meaningful minority partner
Vertical SaaS and tech-enabled services companies
$1-5+ million of annual run-rate recurring revenue
$5-15 million
Across the US & Canada with a focus on underserved markets
  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Real Estate

    Visual Lease provides end-to-end lease accounting and management SaaS. Founder previously started a lease auditing services business.

    In October 2024, CoStar (NASDAQ: CSGP) acquired Visual Lease. Prior, Visual Lease and Growth Street completed a successful recapitalization with Spectrum Equity.

    Marc Betesh

    Founder and CEO

    Marc Betesh

    Founder and CEO

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    Good, wholesome, really smart guys. Good values. I always look for people who will make proper, well-reasoned decisions. And I look for people who share my values of honesty, transparency and integrity.

    How would you describe Growth Street as an investor?

    As soon as Growth Street invested in us, they jumped in to help improve our organizational structure and position us for growth. Steve and Nate clearly are not your standard investors. They are true partners. Not only do they help us achieve our vision for the company, they care about me personally and about maximizing my success as a founder and entrepreneur.

    When you are not working what are you doing?

    I’m always working. I integrate my work with my family life; they are not separate activities. I don’t see work as work, but rather as my hobby and lifestyle.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Employee Relations / Compliance

    HR Acuity‘s SaaS solution is built for employee relations teams to manage employee issues. Founder was previously an employee relations executive.

    In October 2021, HR Acuity completed a successful recapitalization with K1. 

    Deb Muller

    Founder and CEO

    Deb Muller

    Founder and CEO

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    While we have seen significant growth over the past few years, I was frustrated knowing that there was more opportunity that we just weren’t capturing. Finding interested investors was not the problem, but I wasn’t just looking for money. I wanted true partners who brought growth expertise to complement our domain knowledge. From the first call, I felt the difference that GSP brought to the table. The entire GSP team is incredibly data-driven and process-driven. Couple that with senses of humor that work well with mine and I knew we would do something special together.

    How did you confirm Growth Street was the right partner for you?

    From the beginning, they stressed that I should speak to their current portfolio executives. And actually, those CEOs were reaching out to me on their own. The message was consistent – GSP lets you do what you do best but provides the resources to do it better and faster.

    Before Growth Street, who did you speak to about important work-related stuff?

    I am fortunate to have a few advisors who I lean on, as well as an amazing cadre of other female CEOs. But, none of them were in our space or had scaled a SaaS company. So while they were and continue to be extremely supportive, their counsel could only take me so far.

    What inspired you to start HR Acuity?

    I realized that workplace investigations were not being done well in organizations. That causes huge risk for organizations and terrible experiences for employees. No consistency, no standard practices, and absolutely no use of data. At the time, the only tech experience I had was as a user of really bad HR software. But for some reason, I was convinced I could solve the problem. In retrospect, that was nuts. But had I not taken the leap, I wouldn’t be answering these questions today.

    When you’re not at work, where can we find you?

    At work.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Education

    Pear Deck's SaaS platform is used by school districts, schools, teachers, and students throughout the country. Founders are all former educators​.

    In November 2020, Pear Deck sold to GoGuardian.

    Riley Eynon-Lynch

    Co-Founder and CEO

    Riley Eynon-Lynch

    Co-Founder and CEO

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    Growth Street’s culture and values align perfectly with Pear Deck. We are thrilled to welcome them to the Pear Deck family. The partnership will allow us to accelerate growth, invest in product, optimize go-to-market, and remain focused on our primary mission of helping teachers engage all of their students, every day.

    How has Growth Street helped?

    Growth Street helped us choose specific focus points for business success and held us accountable to our goals. They also connect us with a wider industry network, help us with perspectives we don’t have within our own team, and, in a pinch, will negotiate with tough salespeople for us ;)

    What inspired you to start your own company?

    I found a problem shared by a lot of other people, and I thought I could make a good solution to it. It was too exciting not to start, and I’m lucky enough to be in a position that I could just follow my enthusiasm!

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Hospitality

    Hotel Effectiveness' SaaS platform allows hotel owners, third party management companies, and property-level managers to control labor expenses according to occupancy rates and labor standards. Founders previously worked at IHG Hotels & Resorts.

    In May 2022, Hotel Effectiveness sold to Actabl.

    Mike Martin and Taylor Beauchamp

    Co-Founders

    Mike Martin and Taylor Beauchamp

    Co-Founders

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    I knew we could do more and move faster, but I needed the right partner. Growth Street is that partner for us. We specifically chose to partner with Growth Street because the firm's culture, values, and goals align perfectly with our company's. Partnering with Growth Street allows us to accelerate our growth, invest in our people and industry-leading product, and consider add-on acquisitions to deliver even greater value to our customers.

    How would you describe life after partnering with Growth Street?

    Partnering with Growth Street has made my life better. Even though we had a profitable and growing business, deep down I was always worried about something. I often felt alone whenever I had an important decision to make. Today, I worry less and spend more time thinking longer term about the business. I’m happier at work. Even more importantly, my wife tells me that I’m noticeably happier and less stressed at home.

    Before Growth Street, who did you talk to about important work stuff?

    I have always sought out entrepreneurs from all types of businesses and at all stages. When I talk to an entrepreneur who’s ahead of me on building their company, I learn how they did it. When I speak with an earlier stage entrepreneur, I get more clarity about my own business from giving them advice about their business.

    How has Growth Street helped?

    Strategically, Growth Street helped us complete our first acquisition. We never would have done that without them. Their team has helped us create a scalable sales & marketing technical platform. They have identified key executive hires from their own networks. They also helped us in smaller ways like advising on how to structure a partnership or deal with a tricky customer issue.

    When you are not working where can we find you?

    I’ve been in the hotel business for most of my life, so not surprisingly, I love visiting hotels and traveling. Closer to home, I ride a Peloton bike most mornings. It gives totally measurable results and allows you to take classes to compete against thousands of people all around the world. It’s the perfect workout for a super competitive person.

    What inspired you to start your own company?

    I was a frustrated employee and saw companies that became too large to care genuinely for their customers and team members.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Accounting

    Suralink's SaaS solution is specifically built for accounting firms to manage workflows related to PBC request lists and secure document transfer to deliver internal operational efficiencies and improve client experience. Founder was previously an auditor and corporate controller.

    In May 2022, Suralink completed a successful recapitalization with Luminate Capital Partners. 

    Tim Ballantyne

    Co-Founder and CEO

    Tim Ballantyne

    Co-Founder and CEO

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    As our business grows, we continue to face challenges that are new to us but common for companies that have a similar profile to us. In addition to the capital that allows us to pursue our objectives, Growth Street’s specialized focus allows us to tackle these challenges more quickly and more effectively. Growth Street has been down this road many times before and can help us get to our destination more quickly.

    How did you confirm Growth Street was the right partner?

    We had several discussions about the specifics of Growth Street's methodology and how exactly they would help us grow. We ensured we were aligned on our desired outcomes for the company. We talked to their portfolio companies to see what they were like to work with day-in and day-out. After all of that, we knew Growth Street was the right partner for Suralink.

    What inspired you to start your own company?

    While working in public accounting I grew frustrated with the processes we used to interact with clients. They were not only inefficient, they routinely caused serious problems and delays. A much better way seemed obvious, and I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur!

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    Partnering with Growth Street to help accelerate adoption, expand our team, and grow our technology platform was a no-brainer. Growth Street has a proven track record of helping companies just like us. In Growth Street, we see a passionate team who cares deeply about our mission and is aligned with our company's core values.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Child Care

    LineLeader by ChildcareCRM is an all-in-one SaaS platform for child care center owners and directors, including a management system, parent engagement, CRM, marketing automation, digital forms, and payments, specifically designed for the child care industry. Founder previously worked at a childcare management software company.

    In June 2023, LineLeader completed a successful recapitalization with Marlin Equity Partners. 

    Chuck Gibbs

    Co-Founder and Executive Chairman

    Chuck Gibbs

    Co-Founder and Executive Chairman

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    They are engaged, team-oriented, minority investors, who provided capital and expertise to grow the business, and they had the right connections for the next level. It just felt right.

    How has Growth Street helped?

    Steve and Nate’s guidance and sometimes “tough love” has made us a better company, and their connections have provided us opportunities we otherwise may have never had. They have helped with marketing strategy, planning and systems, financial budgeting and analysis, coordinated offshore projects we needed done, provided analysis around key hires, managed a small acquisition, and have been involved in our quarterly and annual offsite planning sessions. They are there when you need them and not overly intrusive when you don’t. I feel they are true partners with us and not just investors. They are partners who really care.

    How would you describe life after choosing to partner with Growth Street?

    Partnering with Growth Street provided us the capital and connections to get great people on our team, as well as providing me personally with some peace of mind - even taking a little cash off the table. This allowed me to focus more on the long term growth of the business instead of constantly being in the weeds and worrying about meeting short term obligations both in the business and personally. Growth Street brings a focus on structure and professionalism, which helped us transform ChildcareCRM into LineLeader.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Governance, Risk, & Compliance

    Govenda's SaaS Board relationship management solution is specifically developed for corporate secretaries, general counsels, executive administrative professionals, and Directors.

     

    In May 2024, Govenda sold to OnBoard.

    Marion Lewis and Jeanette Thomas

    Co-Founders

    Marion Lewis and Jeanette Thomas

    Co-Founders

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    Let me count the ways. Growth Street brings the right combination of team expertise, data-driven conversations, connections, and experience with scaling SaaS businesses. They immediately identified the areas where we needed to change for a major inflection and are extremely collaborative in addressing those changes. And, more importantly, they ‘got’ our culture and shared our values. It also doesn’t hurt that they are funny as hell.

    How did you confirm Growth Street was the right partner for you?

    Because of the pandemic, we couldn’t meet in person, so we all worked hard at spending lots of Zoom time together. I also talked with other of their portfolio CEOs who confirmed that the message met the reality – expertise, honesty, integrity, transparency, and success!

    Before Growth Street, who did you speak to about important work-related stuff?

    I’ve been a long-time member of Women Presidents Organization and have a great network of female CEO’s I can tap into. Pittsburgh also has a vibrant software/startup ecosystem.

    The world is crazy right now. What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs? Anything specific for other female founders?

    Surround yourself with positive people. Focus on the things you can change. Be mindful of the stresses on your team. And take care of yourself! Everyone is depending on you.

    When you’re not at work, where can we find you?

    Normally dining out, going to the theatre, biking, travelling, and spending time with friends and family. Right now, the pandemic has stopped a lot of that, so I’m working a lot more.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Education

    PikMyKid's SaaS dismissal management platform makes K-12 school dismissals faster, more efficient, and safer. Founders suffered through endlessly long lines picking up their kids from school.

    Saravana Pat Bhava and Chitra Kanagaraj

    Co-Founders

    Saravana Pat Bhava and Chitra Kanagaraj

    Co-Founders

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    Partnering with Growth Street to help accelerate adoption, expand our team, and grow our technology platform was a no-brainer. Growth Street has a proven track record of helping companies just like us. In Growth Street, we see a passionate team who cares deeply about our mission and is aligned with our company's core values.

    How has Growth Street helped so far?

    This was the best part! Even before the ink was dry on the initial term sheet, the entire Growth Street team got to work as if we were already partners. We knew they mentioned that they like to roll-up their sleeves and get in the trenches with their portfolio companies, but we were thrilled by the energy with which they dove in! They were instrumental in significantly augmenting our marketing and sales efforts even before the deal was finalized.

    What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?

    People are the most important asset while building any business. Find your tribe of like minded and passionate individuals to form your core team and thereafter everything will fall in place as you scale. Hire for hunger and passion and not solely based on the qualifications on their resume. Finally, be the dumbest person in the room, encourage initiative, and allow your team to thrive.

    When you’re not at work, where can we find you?

    You can find me on a boat fishing, and you can find Chitra spending time with the family.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Govtech

    PublicInput is the leading leading public engagement platform for government. Founders come from industry and are on a mission to make government for the people by the people!

    Jay Dawkins

    Co-Founder and CEO

    Jay Dawkins

    Co-Founder and CEO

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    Our leadership team was blown away by the GSP team’s ability to understand our business, offer new insights, and see the big picture. On a personal level, there’s a certain joy and sense of humor they bring to the work that makes team GSP an excellent culture fit.

    How did you confirm GSP was the right partner for you and PublicInput?

    A quick coffee with GSP that turned into a much longer, highly insightful conversation about the nature of building a company and yourself along the way. It was the recognition of that duality of company and personal development that made working with GSP an exciting opportunity.

    What inspired you to start PublicInput?

    If you go back four generations in my family, at every layer you’ll find local elected officials and entrepreneurs. On some level, PublicInput emerged less from “inspiration” and more from falling into work that feels natural to me. It just took a spark, and in this case the spark was seeing first-hand the broken process local governments use to collect input on big infrastructure projects.

    Where can we find you when you’re not working?

    My wife, Sarah, has pulled me out of the office and onto a walk with our son, Lee, around historic Oakwood in Raleigh. If it’s gotten really busy, she’s pulled me onto the hiking trail in Asheville, NC!

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Higher Education

    uConnect is the leading SaaS CMS built specifically for higher education career services and is on a mission to help all students realize their potential.

    David Kozhuk

    Founder and CEO

    David Kozhuk

    Founder and CEO

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    We knew very early that GSP was the firm that we wanted to partner with. First, it was clear that they had extensive experience helping companies at our size/stage scale, as well as direct experience working with companies in edtech. Second, my interactions with their team were like no other firm I had ever met before. From the first call the day before Thanksgiving, where the Founder Managing Partner was on, all the way to and through closing. They’re kind, smart, and direct, and, in all of our interactions, there was always a friendly, but also productive and efficient, tone to the interactions. We quickly built trust and rapport, and I could see myself working with them for the long term. They developed an intense alignment with me and my team that made me feel like they had the level of commitment to enable our success well before we even closed.

    How did you confirm GSP was the right partner for you and uConnect?

    Three things stood out to me: (1) Great advice, and surfacing of great new ideas, never gets old. The entire GSP team - top to bottom - is savvy, asks good questions, and brings valuable suggestions and ideas at a high frequency. (2) They are genuine and all-in. They weren’t selling me, or putting on a show, to encourage us to sign their term sheet. (3) Meeting with their team gives me energy. Every founder has responsibilities that give or take energy. For many, managing investors takes energy. With GSP, I get excited about our meetings. Our meetings are casual and light but also efficient and productive. I almost always learn something and usually come away more confident about the future of our company.

    What inspired you to start uConnect?

    My older sister inspired me to think about my own career early in life. I benefited tremendously from following her as she launched a career on Wall Street while I was still in middle school. I want others to have a similar experience, and I hope uConnect can help make that happen. She gave me the wherewithal to leverage my college’s vast career services resources and set myself up for success post-graduation. Fast forward, when I went back to my alma mater to recruit students, I realized that my journey was unique (and I must thank my sister for that). In reality, most students either don’t spend any time exploring career paths or defer career planning until very late in their college journey. uConnect engages students and embeds career education in the entire education ecosystem to improve access to career services for everyone. It is my hope that uConnect makes my experience less unique.

    Where can we find you when you’re not working?

    When I’m not working, I’m probably playing with our 3 year old little girl, watching some sporting event, or trying to keep up the 270 year old house we bought last year :)

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Frontline Workforce

    goHappy is the leading SaaS communication and engagement platform for the frontline workforce.

    Shawn Boyer

    Founder & CEO

    Shawn Boyer

    Founder & CEO

    Why did you choose to partner with GSP?

    Growth Street is a unicorn in my opinion. Obviously, there are plenty of firms out there that claim to be different, but the Growth Street team really is - and in a fantastic way. Three things that are different about them and caused us to choose them: 1) They are very founder friendly in terms of how they approach the relationship as a minority investor, deal structure, and as a true partner in the business; 2) We wanted an investor who viewed their investment as potentially our only institutional round vs. multiple rounds; and 3) They are just incredibly nice, down to earth people, who I really enjoy being around.

    How did you confirm GSP was the right partner for you and goHappy?

    I always feel like you either want to spend more time with someone or you don’t. I loved every interaction I had with the Growth Street team and wanted to continue to spend more time with them. They were such great listeners, really got to know our business and our industry, and did what they said they were going to do at every step along the process. When we got to the point of entering into a letter of intent, it perfectly matched our discussions up until then. When we got to the point of the transaction documents, those documents perfectly matched the letter of intent. They even proactively pointed out to us a clause that we had inserted into the deal docs that was in their favor but didn’t match the letter of intent - that was definitely a confirmation that they were the real deal! And, since closing, they have done exactly what they said they would do - providing us with great data, analysis, support, etc., and all in a very supportive and non heavy handed way. And, just as mentioned in the question above, they are just genuinely good people - very fun and caring.

    What inspired you to start goHappy?

    I previously started and sold a company in the frontline worker recruitment space. I realized during my time there that there was a huge void in how companies communicate and engage with those workers once they are hired.

    Where can we find you when you’re not working?

    Either at one of our three kids’ schools or sporting events or on our way to and from one of those!

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Public Safety

    PSTrax is the leading fire and EMS checklist and inventory management software platform

    Scott Bergeron

    Founder & CEO

    Scott Bergeron

    Founder & CEO

    Why did you choose to partner with Growth Street?

    Until I’d met the Growth Street team, I didn’t think it was possible to meet "money guys" who didn't just talk in some strange language and throw money at you. But with Growth Street, it’s a totally different approach. The team is super talented and focused on taking solid ideas, both theirs and ours, and turning them into reality. In my opinion, their data driven and strategic approach is a much healthier way to grow our business.

    How did you confirm Growth Street was the right partner for PSTrax?

    After our first meeting, it was apparent that GSP was a lot more than your typical VC/PE/Investment group. They have heart, passion, and a true sense of service, which aligned with our team and mission. My co-founder's dry sense of humor after meeting them pretty much says it all: “Well, that went better than I thought.”

    What inspired you to start PSTrax?

    My daughter, Nicole, has been a first responder since 2003. In 2009, she called to ask if we could build her department an app for truck checks. When we learned how their paper check sheets weren’t cutting it, and how first responders had been injured and even killed from the lack of communication and accountability with paper checks, I knew we had to help.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical SaaS; Legal

    ECFX is the leading electronic court notice management platform for law firms and corporate legal departments.

    Dan O'Day and Nelson Quintero

    Co-Founders

    Dan O'Day and Nelson Quintero

    Co-Founders

    Why did you choose to partner with GSP?

    Growth Street's business and growth philosophy is closely aligned with our own. The firm also limits its investments to just a handful of companies so each one gets the attention it deserves.

    How did you confirm GSP was the right partner for you and ECFX?

    We spoke to other founders who all had very positive experiences working with the firm and its people. We got to know the team better and felt we had a lot in common.

    What inspired you to start ECFX?

    We kept hearing that there was an unmet need in the market. Many of the state courts went to electronic filing and the federal courts were already there, yet firms were treating the filings as if they were still on paper. There was a clear opportunity to eliminate mundane work and reduce risk through automation. It's worth noting, the photo here was taken right about when Nelson and I decided to start the company!

    Where can we find you when you’re not working?

    Nelson is out golfing or hiking. I am woodworking or playing strategy board games.

  • Industry:

    B2B Vertical Payments; eCommerce

    Chipply provides an online e-commerce solution for group ordering to team dealers, custom apparel decorators, and corporate suppliers.

    Lynn Burghardt

    Co-Founder & President

    Lynn Burghardt

    Co-Founder & President

    Why did you choose to partner with GSP?

    When we met the GSP team we weren’t even looking for partners. We are always open to learning and understanding our options, so we welcomed the dialogue. After a few conversations, we could tell that our cultures would align, and that these guys would provide real value far beyond growth capital. Their expertise in scaling this specific type of business in our stage was attractive. The fact that they are willing to work hard to help us succeed while bringing humor made it clear that we’d be better off fulfilling our mission at Chipply with GSP by our side.

    What inspired you to start Chipply?

    Chipply was born out of a need for our family’s 5th generation sporting goods business, Burghardt Sporting Goods. We saw our own staff and many of our industry peers struggle with efficiency and profitability while fighting to fulfill their customers’ ever-growing expectations. It became clear that a solution was not available, so we dug in and began the project of building one.

    What’s the backstory of the Chipply name?

    Well, if you’ve ever tried to name a band, it’s sort of like that. We wanted the name to be inclusive of all involved in the project. We wanted it to be catchy, and not too specific. After hundreds of iterations, Carl, my brother, pieced together the names Chip and Lynn to form what is now Chipply. Chip is our dad, our mentor, and our inspiration.

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GSP Helps Suralink with Its New Product Launch

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Suralink's Successful Growth Recap

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Pear Deck's Sale to GoGuardian

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Visual Lease's Minority Growth Recap

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Transforming ChildcareCRM to LineLeader

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