News from Summit and Our Portfolio

Combined company is now the largest privately held Records and Information Management Services (RIM) Provider in the U.S.

LIVERMORE, CA—Rob Alston, CEO of Access Information Management, announced today the company’s acquisition of Retrievex, Inc., a records and information management services provider. Based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Retrievex has operations in 15 U.S. markets and in Costa Rica.

With the acquisition, Access today is the largest privately-held records and information management services provider in the United States, with over 17 million cubic feet of records under management. Access now serves 26 markets across the nation and can offer a single-provider advantage to clients operating in those same markets. This transaction also represents Access’ entry into New England and a major expansion throughout both the Northeast and Midwest.

“The acquisition of Retrievex positions Access to lead our industry,” said Alston. “The companies’ shared commitment to outstanding service, our complementary footprints and the merged management team create a powerful combined entity.”

Peter Pierce, Founder, President and CEO of Retrievex, shared Alston’s enthusiasm for the merger. “The industry I have been part of for more than 40 years now has a new, strong and agile national player. Our clients will benefit significantly from Access’ broadened market presence and continually-strengthening capabilities, including a full array of information management solutions, both paper-based and digital.”

Nathan Campbell, Access’ Chief Operating Officer, will lead the integration of the two companies in conjunction with Retrievex COO, W. Price Brannon, who will take on the role of the combined company’s Chief Information Officer.

Three Ocean Partners LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Retrievex during the process and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as legal counsel to Access.

About Access Information Management (www.InformationProtected.com)Access Information Management is the largest privately-held records and information management (RIM) services provider in the United States. A trusted partner to clients spanning multiple industries and markets throughout the country, Access’ complete suite of services includes records management, data protection (electronic computer media), secure destruction, and digital formatting services. The valuable business services Access provides allow clients to focus on their core businesses while reducing the costs and risks associated with document retention, management and final disposition. Access is backed by growth equity investor Summit Partners.

About Retrievex (www.InformationProtected.com)
Formed in 2007, Retrievex provides the necessary financial resources and leadership to meet today’s diverse customer needs for records information management services that now span a broad range of record types. Backed by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in partnership with Peter Pierce, Retrievex emphasized the same outstanding commitment to customer service that was the hallmark of Pierce’s building of, and leadership at, Pierce Leahy Archives.

The FileLine™ System, as the company’s proprietary records information management systems and processes are called, is recognized as the industry’s most comprehensive solution and best-practices approach to records management.

About Summit Partners (www.SummitPartners.com)
Summit Partners is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised nearly $15 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations, and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 350 companies globally in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 125 public offerings, and in excess of 130 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, London and Mumbai. Summit’s notable business services investments include Bartlett Holdings, Central Security Group, EMED Co. and LiveOffice Holdings.

About Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (www.WelshCarson.com)
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe focuses its investment activity in two target industries, information/business services and healthcare. Since its founding in 1979, the Firm has organized 15 limited partnerships with total capital of $20 billion. The firm is currently investing an equity fund, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe XI, L.P., and a dedicated subordinated debt fund, WCAS Capital Partners IV, L.P.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Series C Round Led by Summit Partners

AUSTIN, TX — Zenoss, Inc. a leading provider of unified IT operations software for physical, virtual, and cloud-based IT infrastructure, announced the closing of $25 million in Series C funding led by growth equity investor Summit Partners. Existing investors Grotech Ventures, Intersouth Partners and Boulder Ventures also participated in the round, which will be used to further accelerate the company’s product innovation and global expansion to support continued rapid growth. With the $25 million investment, Zenoss has raised a total of $45 million to date.

Founded in 2005, Zenoss offers a next generation IT operations platform that includes unified monitoring, scale event management, real-time service impact/root cause analysis, and automated remediation. Built on an open software architecture around a real-time service model, Zenoss allows IT organizations to consolidate their operational tools and further automate their core processes. The result is improved service quality, significant cost savings and more rapid response to change. Zenoss has also continued to expand its open source community with a total of 2.4 million downloads of its open source product.

“This raise will help fuel continued innovation, community expansion and growth of our commercial business,” said Bill Karpovich, co-founder and CEO of Zenoss. “We are delighted to have Summit Partners join the team as their experience and success with rapidly-growing companies makes them the ideal partner for Zenoss at this stage of the company’s growth.”

Tom Jennings, a Managing Director of Summit Partners who will join the Zenoss Board of Directors, said “Zenoss is unique because it has been purposely built for managing virtual and cloud based infrastructures on top of legacy environments. The company’s value proposition to customers, rapid growth and recurring revenue reminds us of many great software companies we have backed over the years.”

Michael Medici, a Principal of Summit Partners who will be a Board Observer, added “We look forward to working closely with Bill Karpovich and the rest of the Zenoss management team to continue growing this exceptional company.”

About Zenoss, Inc.
Zenoss is a leading provider of management software for physical, virtual, and cloud-based IT infrastructures. Over 35,000 organizations worldwide have deployed Zenoss to manage their networks, servers, virtual devices, storage, and cloud infrastructure, gaining complete visibility and predictability into their IT operations. Customers include Rackspace, VMware, Hosting.com, LinkedIn, Motorola and SunGard.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised nearly $15 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations, and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 350 companies globally in the technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 125 public offerings, and in excess of 130 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, London and Mumbai. Notable software companies financed by Summit Partners include Hyperion Solutions, McAfee Associates, RightNow Technologies, SeaChange International, Unica, WebEx Communications and Wildfire Interactive.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

On July 31, Google announced its acquisition of Wildfire Interactive , a provider of social media marketing software. Summit Partners, which invested in Wildfire in 2010, was the largest outside investor and the sole professional investor on Wildfire’s Board of Directors. Wildfire wrote about the news on its social media marketing blog:

Wildfire is Joining Google! Posted by Cofounders Victoria Ransom and Alain Chuard to Wildfire’s Social Media Marketing Blog on July 31, 2012

Four years ago, we set out on a journey to make social media marketing easier and more effective. We thought our idea had potential, but little did we know what an incredible ride it would be. Not only have we helped to define and build an entirely new industry, but we’ve created a company that’s larger (from 5 to almost 400 employees in two and a half years!) and more successful (we’re proud to serve 16,000 customers including 30 of the top 50 brands) than we ever imagined.

Today we are about to start a new chapter of our story and we couldn’t be more excited to share the news: Wildfire is joining Google! We truly could not think of a more perfect home for Wildfire. It makes us so happy to know that joining with Google will make it easier for us to realize our vision of changing the way the world markets and enable us to live up to our commitment to make Wildfire an incredible place for our team and our customers.

We believe that over time the combination of Wildfire and Google can lead to a better platform for managing all digital media marketing. For now, we remain focused on helping brands run and measure their social engagement and ad campaigns across the entire web and across all social services—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more—and to deliver rich and satisfying experiences for their consumers. To this end, Wildfire will operate as usual, and there will be no changes to our service and support for our customers.

So many people have helped us get to this exciting point in Wildfire’s evolution; more people than we could ever list or recognize. But we would like to call out a few of you. First and foremost our wonderful customers—thank you for choosing Wildfire as your partner in social media marketing. Thanks to our awesome team—you are the most impressive group of people we have ever had the privilege of working with and it goes without saying that we wouldn’t be where we are today without each and every one of you. Thanks to Summit Partners and our other investors for all your support; your guidance has helped us to not only be one of the most successful companies in our space but also the most capital efficient.

Finally, huge thanks to our friends and partners at Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+ and most especially Facebook. Were it not for the social media revolution that you have all helped to create, Wildfire would not even exist. We are committed to continue building tools that help enhance the way brands and consumers experience each of your respective social networks.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

360T Group Announces Closing of Summit Partners’ Investment

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY and LONDON, UK—360T Group, the leading independent global provider of a multi-bank, multi-asset trading platform, today announced the final closing of a growth equity investment made by Summit Partners.

Summit Partners has acquired a majority stake in 360T from various shareholders including Brockhaus Private Equity, a German independent private equity firm focusing on mid-cap German technology leaders, and the firm’s management. Brockhaus retains a small position and 360T’s management will be the second largest shareholder after Summit Partners.

Han Sikkens, a Managing Director of Summit Partners, said “360T exemplifies the very type of company that Summit Partners seeks for its investment: a rapidly growing, highly scalable business run by an exceptional management team. We see 360T as a truly global company that brings together financial markets, technology leadership and committed personnel.” Added Scott Collins, also a Managing Director of Summit Partners, “We are committed to supporting 360T’s growth strategy both in FX and other adjacent financial markets, and we welcome the company’s employees retaining a significant stake as part of the transaction.”

Summit Partners is partnering with the existing management team and 360T’s founder, Carlo Kölzer, who remains a significant shareholder in the company. “We are very pleased that Summit Partners, a leading global financial technology investor, has chosen to invest in 360T,” said Kölzer. “The reorganization of the shareholder structure and the participation of a leading American growth equity fund is exactly the right step for 360T as we take the company to the next level.”

Founded by CEO Carlo Kölzer and Mathew Kuppe in 2000, 360T provides web-based trading technology for OTC financial instruments, particularly currency exchange, short-term money market loan/deposits and interest rate derivatives. 360T´s secure, smart global transaction network enables clients to trade with greater transparency and enhanced control at every stage of the trading lifecycle.

The company also offers a hosted white-label trading technology that enables organizations to provide internal electronic trading services on a proprietary branded platform.

More than 100 global and regional market makers connect to 360T´s bank-independent trading platform, securing global liquidity delivered with the latest execution features and seamless processing. 360T´s buy-side clients include national and multinational corporate treasuries, institutional clients such as asset managers, broker/dealers and banks. The company is regulated by BaFin.

About 360T Group
360T Group (www.360t.com), based in Frankfurt, Germany, is the leading independent global provider of web-based trading technology for OTC financial instruments, particularly currency exchange, short-term money market loans/deposits and interest rate derivatives. Based on its proprietary core technology, 360T’s multi-bank platform provides deep liquidity of more than 100 global and regional market makers used by over 1000 client organizations worldwide. The company also offers a professional white-label trading technology for electronic trading services to a closed group of users on a proprietary branded platform. 360T Group has a global presence with customers in more than 45 countries and offices in America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $14 billion in capital and has offices in Boston, London, Palo Alto and Mumbai. Summit seeks outstanding management teams that have built their companies to market leadership, and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations and management buyouts. Notable financial technology and services companies financed by Summit Partners include Acturis Limited, Clearwater Analytics, FleetCor Technologies, Flow Traders, Multifonds, Ogone, optionsXpress and Salient Partners.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Summit Partners Joins Existing Investors to Solidify Delphix’s Leadership Position in Agile Data

MENLO PARK, CA—Delphix, the market leader in agile data, announced it has received $25 million in its oversubscribed Series C funding round, led by Jafco Ventures. Summit Partners and Battery Ventures joined Jafco as new investors in Delphix. Existing investors, including Greylock Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners, also participated in the round, which will be used to solidify Delphix’s leadership position in the agile data market. To date, Delphix has raised $45.5 million in capital.

“Delphix offers one of the most compelling value propositions I’ve seen since Splunk (NASD: SPLK),” said Nick Sturiale, General Partner at Jafco Ventures and Splunk board member. “Agile data unites big data and cloud computing, making Delphix the missing piece for unlocking enterprise data and transforming enterprise applications.”

Added Harrison Miller, Managing Director of Summit Partners, “Through Delphix, organizations can finally migrate existing applications to the cloud without extended lead times and blown budgets. Migration has been one of the biggest barriers to cloud adoption and Delphix offers the first technologies we’ve seen that address this issue head on, delivering massive ROI through faster time to market and significant cost savings.”

Delphix has experienced rapid success since emerging from stealth mode in 2010, achieving over 300 percent annual sales growth. With Fortune 1,000 customers across a variety of industries, including financial services, telecommunications, consumer packaged goods, e-commerce, and manufacturing, Delphix already eliminates hundreds of millions of dollars in redundant hardware and inefficient operating expenses across the globe. Last year, Delphix expanded operations to EMEA and Latin America through both direct sales staff and channel partners.

By virtualizing the data within enterprise databases, Delphix increases agility in database-driven application development and transforms the economics of database and application management. Delphix reduces database storage costs and dramatically increases application team productivity, improving the returns on database investments and application time to market.

“Today’s enterprises want to take advantage of cloud computing to cut costs and increase agility,” said Jedidiah Yueh, CEO and Founder of Delphix. “Enterprise databases, however, can be challenging to migrate to cloud environments while running in production. With our data synchronization and virtualization technologies, we deliver the right data to the right teams at a fraction of the cost and time, which can accelerate application projects by up to 500 percent while cutting hardware costs by 90 percent.”

Delphix has been awarded multiple industry honors, including ComputerWorld Honors Laureate, Ventana Research Leadership Award in IT Performance Management, AlwaysOn OnDemand Top 100, and RedHerring Top 100 North America.

About Delphix
Delphix enables agile data, transforming the economics of database and application management. Delphix software addresses the single largest source of inefficiency and inflexibility in the modern datacenter—provisioning, managing, and refreshing databases for business-critical applications. Leading global organizations use Delphix to dramatically reduce the time, cost, and risk of application rollouts, simplifying database operations by 100x, while consolidating redundant hardware by 10x. Delphix is located in Menlo Park, California, and is backed by investors including Greylock Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The Delphix Board of Directors includes individuals with board experience at multiple industry leading technology companies including Oracle, Business Objects, Informatica, Riverbed, Imperva, Palo Alto Networks, Sourcefire and Avamar (acquired by EMC).

LEHI, UT and BOSTON, MA—Solutionreach, a SaaS company providing market-leading patient engagement software for healthcare practices, announced today that growth equity investor Summit Partners has completed a significant investment in the company. This investment positions Solutionreach to maintain its leadership position in patient communication software while accelerating its rapid growth. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2000, Solutionreach delivers high-value patient communications that help healthcare practices acquire, educate, retain and reactivate patients. It achieves this by providing an array of technology-enabled services to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, enhance clinical outcomes, streamline office management, collect patient receivables, manage online reputations, and effectively market through social media.

“Solutionreach provides practices with effective patient engagement solutions that increase revenue, reduce cost, improve outcomes and increase overall patient satisfaction and loyalty,” said Jim Higgins, CEO and Founder of Solutionreach. “Summit’s deep expertise and commitment to leading edge companies in the technology and healthcare sectors allows us to continue providing next-generation solutions and execute our vision.”

Peter J. Connolly, a Principal of Summit Partners who will join the Solutionreach Board of Directors, said, “Under the direction of CEO and Founder Jim Higgins, Solutionreach has built a market-leading position in patient engagement technology. Solutionreach enables practices to cost-effectively communicate with their patients, improve practice economics and enhance clinical outcomes. We are pleased to partner with Jim and his strong team to support the company’s continued growth.” Summit Managing Director Craig D. Frances and Vice President Thomas S. Bremner are also joining the Board.

Solutionreach was advised on the transaction by ArchPoint Partners.

About Solutionreach
Solutionreach is the pioneer and clear leader in providing SaaS-based patient engagement and communication platform solutions for healthcare practices. Utilizing the latest text, email, voice, video, web and social media tools, Solutionreach equips practices and small businesses alike with a high-tech solution that does not sacrifice high-touch personalization. Engagement tools from Solutionreach (and the Smile Reminder platform from Solutionreach) seamlessly integrate into existing workflows and include a multitude of personalized communications including reminders, confirmations, surveys, clinical education, online reputation management and more, all backed by unlimited live revolutionary support.

Solutionreach has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including: (2009-2011) Inc 500/5000 fastest growing private companies; (2009-2010) Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. For more information, please visit www.solutionreach.com.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $14 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations, and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 340 companies across a range of industries. These companies have completed more than 125 public offerings, and in excess of 130 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, London and Mumbai. Notable healthcare and software companies financed by Summit Partners include AvePoint, American Dental Partners, HealthCare Partners, MDVIP, MEDITECH, Postini, Sparta Systems, Unica and Wildfire Interactive.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Leading Provider of Data Center Operations Software and Services Poised for Continued Growth

EDEN PRAIRIE, MN and BOSTON, MA—HelpSystems, LLC, a leading provider of data center automation, security and business intelligence solutions for IBM i, Unix, Linux and Windows operating systems, announced today that growth equity investor Summit Partners has completed a majority investment in the company. Help/Systems will use the funding to support its ongoing organic and acquisition-driven strategic growth.

Founded in 1982, Help/Systems provides automated operations, security and business intelligence software solutions for its worldwide base of more than 5,100 customers. The company delivers products and services that help address powerful IT growth trends including an increased focus on automating IT management, virtualization, the rapid growth of data that requires processing and analyzing, and the increased need for security and network management.

“We are excited about this partnership with Summit Partners,” said Janet Dryer, CEO of Help/Systems. "Summit’s broad base of software and global expertise will help us continue to expand our products and services on the global stage. We look forward to Summit’s guidance and contributions in taking our company to the next level of growth."

Summit Partners initially invested in Help Systems in 2005 and sold the company to Audax Group in 2007. “We are pleased to re-invest in Help/Systems, a leading provider of data center automation, security and business intelligence solutions,” said John Carroll, a Managing Director with Summit Partners. “The company has continued its success on the IBM platform, while now also expanding its solutions into the Unix, Linux and Windows markets. We believe these markets are poised for continued strong growth, and we look forward to partnering once again with a very experienced management team that we know well."

Joining the company’s Board of Directors from Summit Partners are Managing Directors John Carroll and J.J. Kardwell, along with Principal Peter Rottier.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP served as counsel to Summit Partners.

About Help/Systems
Founded in 1982, Help/Systems, LLC is a leading provider of data center automation, security, and business intelligence solutions for IBM i, Unix, Linux and Windows operating systems. In 1992, Help/Systems became America’s first ISO 9001-certified software company, and today remains dedicated to providing its customers with the highest quality products and services. For more information, visit www.helpsystems.com.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $14 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations, and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 340 companies across a range of industries. These companies have completed more than 125 public offerings, and in excess of 130 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, London and Mumbai. Notable software companies financed by Summit Partners include Hyperion Solutions, McAfee Associates, RightNow Technologies, Unica, Wildfire Interactive, and WebEx Communications.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

NEW YORK, NY—Golden Gate Capital and Summit Partners today announced the completion of the merger and recapitalization of Infor and Lawson Software (“Lawson”). The transaction included new and extended debt financing with an average maturity date of 2018. Based in New York, NY, the combined company, Infor (the “company”), is the world’s third-largest provider of enterprise business applications software and services.

“We are deeply grateful for the financial backing from Golden Gate Capital and Summit Partners, two of the most respected technology investors in the industry, who combined to invest more than $1 billion of equity to support Infor’s merger with Lawson. With a disruptive product and technology strategy and compelling market position, Infor is well-positioned to drive industry-leading growth while continuing to invest heavily in our products,” said Charles Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Infor.

"Ten years into our partnership with Infor, we are making our largest investment to-date, which is a powerful endorsement of the company’s strategy, performance and management team," said David Dominik, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Golden Gate Capital.

"We are very pleased to participate in the development of one of the world’s largest privately held software companies. This combination puts two world-class enterprise application software providers at the forefront of innovation, and unifies operational and strategic capabilities under a single management team and vision,” said C.J. Fitzgerald, a Managing Director of Summit Partners, who will join the Infor board.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch served as left lead arranger on the debt financing as well as exclusive financial advisor to Lawson. Other lead arrangers included Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets and KKR Capital Markets. Morgan Stanley acted as exclusive financial advisor to Infor. Credit Suisse acted as exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Golden Gate Capital and Summit Partners.

About Infor and Lawson
With $2.8 billion of annual revenue and 15%+ annual license growth, the company is a clear leader in its markets and continues to gain share on key competitors. The company is a leader in the enterprise applications space driving innovation in cloud delivery models, social computing in the enterprise and mobile applications. It provides industry-specific enterprise software products primarily to large and medium sized enterprises in the manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, public sector, automotive, service industries, equipment services, management and rental, consumer products & retail and hospitality industries. The company’s software and services offerings are “mission critical” for many of its customers as they help automate and integrate critical business processes, which enable customers to better manage their suppliers, partners, customers and employees.

About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital (www.goldengatecap.com) is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with approximately $12 billion of capital under management. Golden Gate Capital is dedicated to partnering with world-class management teams to invest in change-intensive, growth-oriented businesses. The firm targets investments where there is a demonstrable opportunity to significantly enhance a company's value. The principals of Golden Gate Capital have a long and successful history of investing with management partners across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures and spin-offs, and build-ups. Other notable software investments sponsored by Golden Gate Capital include Aspect Software, Micro Focus, Attachmate Novell, Plant CML, DataDirect, Escalate and Symon.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $14 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations, and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 340 companies across a range of industries. These companies have completed more than 125 public offerings, and in excess of 130 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, London and Mumbai. Notable software investments financed by Summit Partners include AVAST Software, Hyperion Software, McAfee Associates, MEDITECH, RightNow Technologies and Unica Corporation.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

EVERGREEN, CO and PALO ALTO, CA—Wowza Media Systems, LLC, the “Any Screen Done Right™” media server software company, announced today that growth equity investor Summit Partners has completed a minority investment in Wowza. This investment positions Wowza for continued strong global growth and opens up opportunities to expand the company’s product offering.

Wowza’s CEO & Cofounder David Stubenvoll and CTO & Cofounder Charlie Good remain majority owners of the company and lead the Wowza Board of Directors. Greg Goldfarb, a Summit Partners Managing Director, has joined the board. The transaction was completed on March 1, 2012, and financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Summit Partners, which has raised more than $14 billion in capital since inception, has invested in a number of industry-leading companies in the software, internet, and media sectors. “The investment by Summit Partners affirms Wowza’s leadership position within the fast-growing and ever-evolving streaming media space,” Stubenvoll said. “Summit has deep expertise and a strong track record in supporting rapidly growing technology companies, as well as a history of investing in companies with proven business models, records of revenue and earnings growth, and the leadership capable of sustaining that growth. Summit’s support will help us continue to provide outstanding service and innovative products to our customers, as well as expand beyond our current offerings.”

Stubenvoll and Good founded Wowza in late 2005, and within a few years the company has emerged as a leading media server software brand delivering ever-evolving disruptive software that has redefined multiformat streaming across all screens. Since the release of its first version of Wowza Media Server software in 2007, the company has reached more than 100,000 licensees in more than 150 countries. Customers include service providers, radio and TV broadcasters, media properties, enterprises, educational institutions, OEMs, government agencies, and other organizations that need reliable, extensible, affordable delivery of video to any digital screen.

“Wowza is a market leader in the streaming media industry, providing an expansive product portfolio to a diverse range of organizations around the world. The company offers customers an unprecedented user experience and dependable, uninterrupted streaming of their media,” said Goldfarb of Summit Partners. ”As a long-time investor in media technology and software companies, Summit Partners is pleased to support this strong team of entrepreneurs that has built a rapidly growing and profitable company poised for significant expansion.”

About Wowza Media Systems
Wowza Media Systems, LLC (www.wowza.com) is the “Any Screen Done Right™” media server software company delivering an industrial-strength infrastructure for streaming live video, video-on-demand, live recording, and video chat. Wowza has a singular focus on delivering high-performance media server software to service providers, media properties, enterprises, and other organizations serious about delivering video to any digital screen—computer, mobile phone, or home TV. More than 100,000 global licensees in entertainment, social media, advertising, enterprise, education, government, and Internet commerce have deployed Wowza Media Server software to date. Wowza is privately held with headquarters in Evergreen, Colo.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $14 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations, and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 340 companies across a range of industries. These companies have completed more than 125 public offerings, and in excess of 130 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, London, and Mumbai. Notable media technology and software companies financed by Summit Partners include Hyperion Solutions, McAfee Associates, RightNow Technologies, SeaChange International, Unica, Wildfire Interactive, and WebEx Communications.

Wowza and related marks are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Wowza Media Systems, LLC. Third-party product names and related marks are either registered trademarks or trademarks of such third parties.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

LOWELL, MA–M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. ("M/A-COM Tech"), today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,000,000 shares of common stock at $19.00 per share. A total of 5,556,000 shares are being offered by M/A-COM Tech and 444,000 shares are being offered by a selling stockholder. In addition, certain selling stockholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 900,000 shares to cover over-allotments, if any. M/A-COM Tech will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders. The shares will begin trading on Thursday, March 15, 2012 on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "MTSI".

Barclays Capital Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Jefferies & Company, Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers. Needham & Company, LLC, Raymond James & Associates, Inc. and Stifel Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated are acting as co-managers for the offering.

The initial public offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus related to the initial public offering may be obtained from Barclays Capital Inc. at c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717 or by email at barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com or by calling (888) 603-5847, or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, or by calling (866) 803-9204.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with, and on March 14, 2012 was declared effective by, the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor may there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY and LONDON, UK—360T Group, the leading independent global provider of a multi-bank, multi-asset trading platform, announced today that growth equity investor Summit Partners has signed a definitive agreement to invest in the company. The investment will position 360T for continued strong global growth. The investment will involve a partial divestiture of the stake held by Brockhaus Private Equity, which will continue to be a 360T shareholder after the transaction.

360T, the leading B2B web-based model in Europe, will remain an independent company. Summit Partners is partnering with the existing management team, led by CEO Carlo Koelzer, who is a significant shareholder. The transaction is pending regulatory approval by BaFin, the financial regulatory authority for Germany, and the German Cartel Office. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Summit Partners will acquire a majority stake in 360T. The investment will strengthen 360T’s continuous growth and international expansion into new markets, and supports 360T’s strategy in providing a best-in-class trading technology.

Founded by CEO Carlo Kölzer and Mathew Kuppe in 2000, 360T provides web-based trading technology for OTC financial instruments, particularly currency exchange, short-term money market loan/deposits and interest rate derivatives. 360T’s secure, smart global transaction network enables clients to trade with greater transparency and enhanced control at every stage of the trading lifecycle. The company also offers a hosted white label trading technology that enables organizations to provide internal electronic trading services on a proprietary branded platform.

More than 100 global and regional market makers connect to 360T’s bank-independent trading platform, securing global liquidity delivered with the latest execution features and seamless processing. 360T’s buy-side clients include national and multinational corporate treasuries, institutional clients such as asset managers, broker/dealers and banks. The company is regulated by BaFin.

360T was advised on the transaction by Hengeler Mueller and Lincoln International. Summit Partners was advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Torch Partners Corporate Finance.

About 360T Group
360T Group (www.360t.com), based in Frankfurt, Germany, is the leading independent global provider of web-based trading technology for OTC financial instruments, particularly currency exchange, short term money market loan/deposits and interest rate derivatives. Based on its proprietary core technology, 360T’s multi-bank platform provides deep liquidity of more than 100 global and regional market makers used by over 1000 client organizations worldwide. The company also offers a professional white-label trading technology for electronic trading services to a closed group of users on a proprietary branded platform. The company has a global presence with customers in more than 45 countries and offices in America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $14 billion in capital and has offices in Boston, London, Palo Alto and Mumbai. Summit seeks outstanding management teams that have built their companies to market leadership, and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations and management buyouts. Notable financial technology and services companies financed by Summit Partners include Acturis Limited, Clearwater Analytics, FleetCor Technologies, Flow Traders, Liquidnet Holdings, Multifonds, Ogone, optionsXpress and Salient Partners.

About Brockhaus Private Equity
Brockhaus Private Equity (www.brockhaus-pe.com) is an independent private equity firm founded in 2000 and based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The firm manages funds from institutional investors with a volume of more than € 175 million. Focusing on buy-out and growth financing deals, Brockhaus Private Equity makes equity and equity-related investments in the range of €5 million to €25 million per engagement in Germany and other European countries. The investment focus is on technology leaders in the German Mittelstand (SMME).

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

PALO ALTO, CA – Summit Partners, a growth equity investor firm that invests in exceptional companies, today announced the strategic sale of its portfolio company LiveOffice Holdings LLC to Symantec Corporation. The acquisition was completed on January 16, 2012 for approximately $115 million. Headquartered in Torrance, California, LiveOffice is the leading global provider of cloud-based email archiving, email compliance, email discovery and email continuity solutions. Summit made a minority investment in LiveOffice in 2007.

Nick Mehta, CEO of LiveOffice said, “Summit Partners’ expertise in the SaaS and cloud areas has been a tremendous asset to our business. With their help and industry network, we built a global business, rapidly evolved our product and sales channels, recruited a world-class board of directors and completed our management team, as we grew to become the top cloud-based archiving provider in the world.”

“It has been a pleasure to work with LiveOffice’s exceptional management team,” added Greg Goldfarb, Managing Director of Summit Partners, who joined the LiveOffice Board of Directors in 2007. “Our work with LiveOffice exemplifies what Summit does best—partner with outstanding management teams to help them extend their leadership positions.”

Over the past five years, LiveOffice has grown to become the number-one global provider of cloud-based email archiving, email compliance, email discovery and email continuity solutions, with more than 20,000 clients around the world. During this time, the company has been recognized multiple times on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in North America and the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500 in North America. Most recently, LiveOffice was positioned in the Visionaries of Gartner’s 2011 “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Information Archiving.”

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $14 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 340 companies across a range of industries. These companies have completed more than 125 public offerings, and in excess of 130 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, London and Mumbai.

About LiveOffice
LiveOffice (www.liveoffice.com) is the number-one global provider of cloud-based email archiving, email compliance, email discovery and email continuity solutions, with more than 20,000 clients and a 97-percent client retention rate. Founded in 1998 and backed by leading private equity firm Summit Partners, the company has more than 200 employees with deep experience in messaging, including executives from Symantec, Microsoft and Cisco.

About Symantec Corporation
Symantec (www.symantec.com) is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Summit will actively invest more than $9 billion in growth companies across North America, Europe and Asia

BOSTON, MA—Summit Partners, a growth equity firm that invests in exceptional companies, today announced the final closing of two equity funds with combined commitments of $3.22 billion. This brings Summit Partners’ total amount available for investment in rapidly growing companies across North America, Europe and Asia to more than $9 billion.

Summit Partners Growth Equity Fund VIII is a $2.7 billion fund formed to invest primarily in profitable, growing companies. It will target equity commitments of more than $45 million. Summit Partners Venture Capital Fund III is a $520 million fund formed to invest in private emerging growth companies. It will target equity investments of up to $45 million. Summit Partners’ funds can invest in conjunction with the firm’s subordinated debt fund to meet each company’s unique financing needs.

Since its inception in 1984, Summit Partners has raised a total of 16 equity funds and subordinated debt funds with combined assets of more than $14 billion.

Investors participating in the new equity funds include advisors, corporate and public pension funds, entrepreneurs with whom Summit has partnered, family offices, financial institutions, foundations and universities, and funds of funds. Joe Trustey, a Managing Director at Summit Partners, said, “All of us at Summit greatly appreciate our limited partners’ investments in our funds. We believe the support we have received from both current and new investors validates our growth equity strategy – seeking out and investing in exceptional growth companies with outstanding management teams.”

Summit’s team of more than 80 investment professionals in Boston, Palo Alto, and London will use the funds to acquire minority and majority positions in successful, growing companies across many industries, including technology, healthcare, financial technology and services, consumer and industrial. Summit has invested in more than 340 companies across a range of geographies and industries. These companies have completed more than 125 public offerings and in excess of 130 strategic sales or mergers.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $14 billion in capital and has offices in Boston, London and Palo Alto. Summit seeks outstanding management teams that have built their companies to profitability and market leadership, and it provides equity and debt capital for growth, recapitalizations and management buyouts. Notable companies financed by Summit Partners include E-TEK Dynamics, Fermentas International, FleetCor Technologies, Heald College, Hittite Microwave Corporation, Jamba!, Keystone RV Company, Lincare, McAfee, MDVIP, optionsXpress, Pediatrix Medical Group, Physicians Formula, Tiny Prints, vente-privee.com and Web Reservations International.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Investment will accelerate growth in rapidly growing equipment provider for the semiconductor industry

HORSHAM, PA and BOSTON, MA—Growth equity investor Summit Partners announced that it completed a significant investment in Solid State Equipment, a manufacturer of single wafer wet processing equipment for the semiconductor industry. Solid State Equipment will continue to focus on several high-growth segments of semiconductor manufacturing, including advanced packaging processes, mobile communications and mobile computing products, and LED devices.

Founded in 1965, Solid State Equipment designs and manufactures capital equipment for leading semiconductor companies. The company provides outstanding products and services for the integrated circuit industry that can be configured to a specific customer’s needs, while leveraging standard platforms and proprietary technology to drive efficiencies. Solid State Equipment provides sales and technical support through its global network of direct and independent representatives.

Herman Itzkowitz, Solid State Equipment’s President and CTO, said, “Summit Partners' investment is a vote of confidence in our business model and our leadership position in the industry. Summit Partners has provided us with the growth capital necessary to continue our track record of success in important growth segments of the semiconductor industry.” Added Rich Richardson, Solid State Equipment’s Chairman, “Summit Partners’ industry experience will be an invaluable resource as we enter our next stage of growth."

John Carroll, a Managing Director at Summit Partners who will join the Solid State Equipment Board of Directors, said, “Under the leadership of Rich and Herman, Solid State Equipment has established an exceptional track record through its proprietary technology and exceptional engineering capabilities. We are pleased to partner with Rich, Herman, and the entire management team to support the company’s continued growth."

“Solid State Equipment has maintained impressive growth and consistent profitability for nearly two decades,” added Peter Rottier, a Vice President with Summit Partners who is also joining the board. “We are delighted to be an investor in the business and to work with the management team.”

About Solid State Equipment
Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania, Solid State Equipment (www.ssecusa.com) is a manufacturer of single wafer wet processing equipment for the semiconductor industry. Solid State Equipment maintains worldwide sales and technical service offices in Horsham, Pennsylvania; San Jose, California; Regensburg, Germany; Cramlington, England; Taiwan, R.O.C.; Shanghai, P.R.C; Woodlands, Singapore; Gyeonggi, R.O.K.; and Laguna, Philippines.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $11 billion in capital and has offices in Boston, London and Palo Alto. Summit seeks outstanding management teams that have built their companies to profitability and market leadership, and it provides equity and debt capital for growth, recapitalizations and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 330 companies across a range of geographies and industries. In the semiconductor and communications industry, Summit’s notable investments include AltoCom, E-TEK Dynamics, FSI International, Hittite Microwave, Powerwave Technologies, Sirenza Microdevices and Ubiquiti Networks.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA—Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBNT), a next-generation communications technology company, today announced the pricing of the initial public offering of 7,038,230 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $15.00 per share. The shares will begin trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on October 14, 2011 under the ticker symbol "UBNT." Of the shares of common stock in the offering, Ubiquiti is offering 2,395,328 shares and selling stockholders are offering 4,642,902 shares. In addition, a selling stockholder, Summit Partners granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,055,734 shares of common stock, solely to cover over-allotments, if any.

UBS Securities LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Pacific Crest Securities LLC and ThinkEquity LLC are acting as co-managers.

A registration statement relating to this offering was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 13, 2011. This offering is being made solely by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained from: UBS Securities LLC, Prospectus Department 299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171 or by telephone toll free at 888-827-7275; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Attn: Prospectus Department, Harborside Financial Center, 100 Plaza One, Jersey City, New Jersey 07311-3988, telephone: (800) 503-4611 or e-mail at prospectus.cpdg@db.com; or Raymond James & Associates, Inc., 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg, FL 33716, telephone: (800) 248-8863, email: andrea.borum@raymondjames.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

EAST HARTFORD, CT and PALO ALTO, CA—Growth equity investor Summit Partners today announced that it has completed its investment in CareCentrix, Inc., a provider of home healthcare benefits management services. The investment will support CareCentrix’s rapid growth and fund the continued development of new product offerings. Certain shareholders, including Water Street Healthcare Partners, will retain an ownership position in the company going forward. Water Street Healthcare Partners purchased the company in 2008 and, in conjunction with management, more than doubled the business in less than three years. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1996, CareCentrix works on behalf of its health plan customers to coordinate members’ care, improve quality and service, and lower costs in home nursing, home infusion and home medical equipment. The company has expanded its services to include home-based sleep benefit management through its acquisition of Sleep Management Solutions and hospital readmission reduction through its HomeSTAR program. CareCentrix serves more than 30 million people through its network of 7,000 credentialed home care providers across the United States, and has customer care centers located across the country.

Eric Reimer, CEO of CareCentrix, said, “The investment by Summit Partners is a validation of CareCentrix’s leadership position within the healthcare benefits management industry. Summit has deep expertise and a strong track record in healthcare services as well as a history of investing in rapidly growing companies like CareCentrix. Summit’s support will help us continue to provide outstanding service and innovative products to our customers."

Dr. Craig Frances, Peter Connolly and Michael Anderson from Summit Partners will join the CareCentrix Board of Directors. Dr. Frances said, "CareCentrix is the market leader in providing health plans with a national solution to effectively manage their home healthcare costs. By coordinating care in the home, the lowest-cost venue in our healthcare system, CareCentrix improves quality, reduces cost, and provides service in the preferred setting for patients. The company’s HomeSTAR program, which is a proven means for preventing avoidable hospital readmissions, is a great example of this. We look forward to working closely with the talented management team and continuing shareholders in the years to come.”

About CareCentrix, Inc.
CareCentrix (www.carecentrix.com) is the nation’s leading benefits management company focused on effectively managing home-based care. Headquartered in East Hartford, Connecticut, the company offers a full range of services including coordination of home nursing, home infusion, home medical equipment and sleep testing. The company also offers a program, HomeSTAR, which reduces the number of hospital readmissions. CareCentrix serves more than 30 million people through its national network of 7,000 credentialed home healthcare providers, with customer care centers located across the United States.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Summit seeks outstanding management teams that have built their companies to profitability and market leadership, and provides capital for growth, recapitalizations and management buyouts. Founded in 1984, Summit has invested in more than 330 growing companies across a range of geographies and industries including technology, education, business services, healthcare, consumer and industrial products, among many others. With offices in Boston, London and Palo Alto, Summit has raised more than $11 billion in capital since inception.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

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         Investment in industry-leading information management company to fund continued growth

LIVERMORE and PALO ALTO, CA—Access Information Management, a leading provider of records management storage and destruction services for hardcopy and electronic records, announced that it has received a growth equity investment from Summit Partners. The investment will fund the continued growth of Access' records and information management (RIM) service operations throughout the United States.

Founded in 2004 by Dennis Barnedt with the backing of Housatonic Partners, Access provides end-to-end RIM lifecycle services including offsite records storage, secure document shredding, climate controlled media vaulting, digital imaging and electronic records hosting. Access has more than 10,000 clients across many industries including healthcare, legal, financial services and manufacturing. Clients use Access’ services to mitigate the legal risks and financial penalties associated with records management and disposition. Access' services support compliance with industry and government regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); Sarbanes Oxley (SOX); the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), which requires financial institutions to explain their information-sharing practices and safeguard sensitive customer data; and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) with provisions designed to protect consumers against identity theft.

With roots in the San Francisco Bay Area, Access has expanded geographically through the organic addition of new client relationships as well as strategic acquisitions. Current Access locations include facilities in Northern and Southern California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Oregon and Wisconsin. Access is one of the fastest growing organizations in the RIM industry and was named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies for three consecutive years, from 2009 through 2011.

"Access is excited to announce our growth equity relationship with Summit Partners," said Rob Alston, Access’ Chief Executive Officer. "This investment will strengthen our ability to expand the company’s geographic service reach, enhance our service offering and grow the business in support of client needs.”

“Access will continue to search for and identify strategic acquisition opportunities with select RIM organizations throughout North America,” added John Chendo, Access' President. “This will further position Access to provide premier customer service to its growing client base.”

C.J. Fitzgerald, a Managing Director of Summit Partners who will join the Access Board of Directors, said, “Access Information Management has created a unique position in the records and information management services sector. We are pleased to invest in Access and look forward to working closely with Rob, John and the entire management team to support the company’s continued rapid growth.”

Len Ferrington, a Principal with Summit Partners who will also join the Access Board, added, “Summit Partners has been investing in profitable, innovative leaders in the business services industry for more than 27 years. We are very excited about the growth prospects of this exceptional company.”

Robert W. Baird & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor to Access in this transaction.

         About Access Information Management
Access Information Management (www.accesscorp.com) is a leading records and information management (RIM) services provider and trusted partner to clients spanning multiple industries and geographies throughout the United States. Access offers a complete suite of RIM services including records management, data protection (electronic computer media), secure destruction, and Digital Access Solutions. Access services allow clients to focus on their core business while reducing the costs and risks associated with document retention, management and final disposition.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity investor that provides private equity and venture capital to rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $11 billion in capital and has provided growth equity, recapitalization and management buyout financing to more than 330 growing companies across a range of industries and geographies. Summit Partners seeks outstanding management teams that have built their companies to market leadership. Summit’s notable business services investments include Bartlett Holdings, Central Security Group, EMED Co. and LiveOffice Holdings.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

           Company Profiles:            

               
• Access Information Management
           

Team Members:

               
• Leonard C. Ferrington
               
• C.J. Fitzgerald
           

REDWOOD CITY, CA--Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY), a leading Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, announced today it has completed the acquisition of Tiny Prints, Inc., a privately-held ecommerce company offering stylish cards, invitations, personalized stationery and photo books. Shutterfly believes the acquisition will accelerate growth in its cards and stationery offering and provide the opportunity for significant financial synergies through vertical integration. [Summit Partners invested in Tiny Prints in 2008.]

Under the terms of the agreement, Shutterfly acquired all of the outstanding stock of Tiny Prints in exchange for approximately $146.5 million in cash and approximately 4.0 million shares of Shutterfly common stock. In addition, Shutterfly has reserved approximately 1.4 million shares of common stock as consideration for the vested and unvested Tiny Prints employee equity awards assumed by Shutterfly.

Tiny Prints stockholders own approximately 12% of the pro forma combined company. Tiny Prints outside investors will be subject to a six-month lock-up on the sale of Shutterfly shares received in the transaction and the Tiny Prints founders will be subject to a staggered 18-month lock-up. In addition, approximately 9% of the acquisition consideration will be held in escrow for 12 months.

Shutterfly plans to provide Q2 2011 and FY 2011 financial guidance as part of its Q1 2011 earnings release and conference call on April 27, 2011.

About Shutterfly
Founded in 1999, Shutterfly, Inc. is an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service. Shutterfly provides high quality products and world class services that make it easy, convenient and fun for consumers to preserve their digital photos in a creative and thoughtful manner. Shutterfly's flagship product is its award-winning photo book line, which helps consumers celebrate memories and tell their stories in professionally bound coffee table books. Shutterfly was recently named one of the top 25 Best Midsized Companies to Work For by the Great Place to Work Institute. More information about Shutterfly (NASDAQ:SFLY) is available at www.shutterfly.com. Shutterfly and Shutterfly.com are trademarks of Shutterfly, Inc.

About Tiny Prints
Tiny Prints, Inc. is comprised of www.tinyprints.com and www.weddingpaperdivas.com, two thriving ecommerce brands offering stylish cards, invitations, personalized stationery and photo books to customers from around the world. The company's emphasis on fresh design, high quality products and a perfectly delightful customer experience have led to continued success in a variety of markets, from photo cards to party invitations, greeting cards, announcements and beyond. Beloved by celebrities, top designers and stylish shoppers alike, Tiny Prints is quickly becoming a household name that is proud to remind us all that sometimes the tiny things in life are really the big things in disguise.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the acquisition of Tiny Prints, including the actual amount of cash paid and the number of shares of common stock issued by Shutterfly in the transaction. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to Shutterfly as of the date of this press release.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include a variety of factors, some of which are beyond Shutterfly's control. In particular, such risks and uncertainties include difficulties encountered in integrating acquired businesses; the adverse impact of competitive product announcements; revenues and operating performance; changes in overall economic conditions and markets, including the current credit markets; the cyclical nature of the industry in which Shutterfly and Tiny Prints operate; changes in demand for Shutterfly's or Tiny Prints' products and services; pricing and gross margin pressures; loss of key customers; order cancellations; control of costs and expenses; significant litigation; risks associated with acquisitions and dispositions; the threat or occurrence of conflict and terrorist activities both in the United States and internationally; and risks and costs associated with increased and new regulation of corporate governance and disclosure standards. Information concerning additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements is contained in Shutterfly's Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 7, 2011, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other of Shutterfly's SEC filings. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Shutterfly's views as of any subsequent date and Shutterfly does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made.

Leading Network Security Analysis Vendor Strengthens RSA’s Advanced Security, Risk and Compliance Management Solutions

HOPKINTON, MA – EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today announced that it has acquired Virginia-based NetWitness Corporation – a privately-held, market-leading provider of network security analysis solutions. NetWitness’ technologies provide precise and pervasive network visibility, enabling security teams to detect and remediate advanced threats while automating the incident investigation process. EMC’s acquisition of NetWitness closed on April 1, 2011, and NetWitness will now operate as a part of RSA, The Security Division of EMC. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact to revenue or EPS for the full 2011 fiscal year. [Summit Partners invested in NetWitness in 2009.]

NetWitness offers a revolutionary network security monitoring and analysis platform that provides organizations with a complete and actionable understanding of activity happening on their enterprise networks. Leading organizations worldwide have deployed NetWitness solutions to solve a wide range of the most challenging information security problems including: insider threats, zero-day exploits and targeted malware, advanced persistent threats, fraud, espionage, data leakage, and continuous monitoring of critical security controls. NetWitness customers include enterprises across the Global 1000 in sectors such as financial services, power and energy, telecommunications, retail, and high-tech, as well as government agencies around the world in defense, homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence.

“The intensity and sophistication of advanced adversaries and zero day malware challenge every organization to rethink traditional approaches to network security,” said Tom Heiser, President, RSA, The Security Division of EMC.“NetWitness has redefined the securitylandscape, providing a powerful solution for organizations seeking to gain immediate insight, precise clarity, and timely closure in the face of the toughest cyber threats. NetWitness’ unique network security analysis capabilities extend RSA’s solutions for managing security risk and compliance across both physical and virtual environments.”

NetWitness will become a core element of RSA’s Advanced Security Management Solutions, providing real-time visibility into network activity and adding efficiency to incident investigations and workflow. By combining the NetWitness network monitoring and analysistechnology with RSA’s enVision® platform, RSA® Data Loss Prevention Suite (DLP) and RSA® CyberCrime Intelligence service, security teams can achieve deep insight into the security posture of their organizations. The precise intelligence and visibility that NetWitness provides, coupled with the RSA Archer eGRC platform, enables organizations to apply business context to security information for better identification and prioritization of security risks while improving and streamlining the incident management process.

NetWitness innovations also go beyond network security analysis to include automated malware analysis, a rapidly growing requirement for addressing advanced persistent threats. Announced at RSA Conference 2011 and available in Q2 2011, NetWitness unveiled Spectrum, a new offering that replicates the knowledge, process and workflow of malware analysts. Spectrum will deliver multiple signature-free methods to identify advanced and zero-day malware. When supplemented by the data collected through RSA FraudAction and RSA CyberCrime Intelligence services, Spectrum can perform a key role in addressing evolving threats.

“EMC and NetWitness share a complementary vision for the future of security management, work with the same types of industry-leading customers, and have a respect for each other’s cultures of innovation and growth,” said Amit Yoran, CEO of NetWitness. “Joining RSA is a strategic move that will deliver significant benefit for NetWitness customers, partners and employees. EMC has a tremendous record of bringing together smart people and hot technologies and continuing to invest in them to further accelerate growth and achieve their full market potential. Together, we have an opportunity to further strengthen our leadership position in network security analysis by creating new, integrated products and capabilities to solve our customers’ most complex security challenges.”

About NetWitness
NetWitness® is a revolutionary network monitoring platform that provides enterprises a precise and actionable understanding of everything happening on the network. NetWitness solutions are deployed in customer environments to solve a wide range of tough information security problems including: insider threats, zero-day exploits and targeted malware, advanced persistent threats, fraud, espionage, data leakage, and continuous monitoring of security controls. NetWitness customers include enterprises across the Global 1000 in sectors such as financial services, power and energy, telecommunications, retail, and high-tech, as well as government agencies around the world in defense, homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence.

About EMC
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world’s leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC’s products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

BOISE, ID and PALO ALTO, CA – Clearwater Analytics®, a SaaS company providing web-based investment portfolio reporting and analytics, today announced that it has entered into a minority growth equity investment partnership with Summit Partners. Clearwater Analytics has built the industry’s leading daily accounting, compliance, performance and risk solution for institutional investors, asset managers and custody banks. In connection with the investment, Summit Partners’ Greg Goldfarb has joined the Clearwater Analytics Board of Directors, while Summit’s Harrison Miller will serve in a board advisory capacity.

Launched in 2004, Clearwater Analytics reports on more than $600 billion in assets for over 2,500 institutional investors worldwide. Clearwater’s platform aggregates and reconciles investment portfolio information at the tax lot level and generates unprecedented transparency in the form of daily reporting and analytics. Clearwater’s customer base includes market leaders such as Cisco Systems, Oracle Corporation, Starbucks Corporation and Yahoo!

“The partnership with Summit Partners was driven by Clearwater’s commitment to rapid, profitable growth sustained by best practices,” said Courtlandt Gates, Chief Executive Officer of Clearwater Analytics. “Summit’s impressive track record in assisting SaaS companies – particularly those located in the Mountain West – and the deep domain knowledge brought by Harrison and Greg to our board made Summit a compelling partner.”

“At Summit Partners, we’ve been making growth equity investments in technology companies for more than 25 years,” said Harrison Miller, a Managing Director at Summit Partners. “Clearwater’s commitment to continuous product innovation and customer satisfaction gives us great confidence that it can extend its market leadership for many years into the future.”

“Even though Clearwater did not need an investment, there was such a strong alignment of culture, experience and objectives that its team concluded we could help them advance their long-term growth objectives,” added Greg Goldfarb, a Principal at Summit Partners. “From Summit’s prior experiences working with entrepreneurs in the Mountain West, we know there can be substantial advantages for companies such as Clearwater that build their businesses outside of the more traditional tech corridors. A successful and innovative SaaS company headquartered in a region with reasonable cost-of-living and great quality-of-life can offer its employees a unique value proposition.”

With more than 120 employees, Clearwater Analytics has built one of the largest privately held SaaS companies in the Mountain West region. The company has developed a multi-tenant, scalable software and data platform that analyzes hundreds of thousands of different securities, performs complex mathematical calculations and delivers daily reporting and analytics to both very large and mid-sized companies with investment assets ranging from $50 million to $50 billion.

“In the aftermath of the financial crisis, it is clearer than ever that institutional investors must understand their investment portfolios in order to accurately account for the securities they own,” explained Gates. “Clearwater transforms investment reporting and analytics into an automated, scalable solution eliminating manual processes and increasing accuracy; and Clearwater’s integrated accounting, compliance, performance and risk platform provides the audit-quality data needed by Chief Financial Officers, Treasurers, and Chief Investment Officers to make informed decisions.”

About Clearwater Analytics
Clearwater Analytics® (www.clearwateranalytics.com) provides web-based, investment portfolio reporting and analytics for institutional investors, investment managers, custody banks, and electronic trading portals. Clearwater’s daily-aggregated and reconciled solutions deliver the highest level of portfolio transparency available on the market today for clients such as Cisco Systems, Oracle Corporation, Starbucks Corporation and Yahoo! Launched in 2004, with offices in New York City and Boise, Idaho, Clearwater Analytics reports on over $600 billion in assets for more than 2,500 institutional investors worldwide.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Summit Partners seeks outstanding management teams that have built their companies to profitability and market leadership, and provides capital for growth, recapitalizations and management buyouts. Founded in 1984, Summit Partners has invested in more than 320 growing companies across a range of geographies and industries including technology, education, business services, healthcare, consumer and industrial products, among many others. With offices in Boston, London and Palo Alto, Summit Partners has raised more than $11 billion in capital since inception. Notable investments in the software sector include: McAfee, RightNow Technologies, Hyperion Software, GoldenGate Software, Postini, ProClarity, and Unica.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

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Investment in leading radio frequency semiconductor and component supplier to support growth strategy

LOWELL, MA and PALO ALTO, CA—Growth equity investor Summit Partners today announced an investment for a minority stake in M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc., a leading supplier of semiconductors, active and passive components, and sub-assemblies for use in radio frequency, microwave and millimeter wave applications. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

M/A-COM Tech provides solutions to a broad range of complex radio frequency (RF) and microwave circuit design, packaging and manufacturing challenges faced by top OEMs and systems integrators. The company is the partner of choice in a variety of markets—including cellular base stations and infrastructure, military communications, avionics, radar, medical equipment, point-to-point and broadband radios, and broadcast equipment. Its products are sold and distributed globally via multiple sales channels—including a direct field sales force, authorized sales representatives and leading industry distributors.

John Ocampo, Chairman of the Board of M/A-COM Tech, said, “We are very pleased to add Summit Partners as an investor in and adviser to M/A-COM Tech. With Summit’s unparalleled sector expertise and track record in communications technology, we believe M/A-COM Tech will be even better positioned to invest in new products and technologies that will allow us to continue providing market-leading solutions to our customers worldwide."

Mr. Ocampo is an RF components industry veteran, having co-founded former Summit Partners portfolio company Sirenza Microdevices, a diversified supplier of RF semiconductors and components, which he led through a successful IPO and eventual sale to RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ:RFMD) in 2007.

Peter Chung, Managing Director of Summit Partners, will join the M/A-COM Tech Board of Directors. Mr. Chung said, "M/A-COM Tech enjoys a unique position in the RF component sector with its rich history of innovation and, more recently, its significant growth and development as an independent company. We look forward to working closely with the M/A-COM Tech management team and board. We are also very grateful for the opportunity to work again with John and his outstanding team of executives."

About M/A-COM Technology Solutions
M/A-COM Tech (macomtech.com) is a leading supplier of semiconductors, active and passive components, and subassemblies for use in radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter-wave applications. Headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, M/A-COM Tech builds on 60 years of experience to design and manufacture innovative products addressing aerospace and defense, CATV and broadcast, consumer electronics, industrial and scientific, infrastructure, and public safety applications for top OEMs worldwide.

About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $11 billion in capital and has provided growth equity, recapitalization and management buyout financing to more than 300 companies across a range of industries and geographies. Summit Partners’ past and present communications technology investments include E-TEK Dynamics, Finisar, Hittite Microwave, Powerwave Technologies, Sirenza Microdevices, WebEx Communications and Xylan.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

Leading growth equity investor makes minority investment to support Hiperos’ expansion plans

SOUTHBOROUGH and BOSTON, MA—Hiperos, LLC, a provider of on-demand software for extended enterprise management, announced today that it received a minority investment from growth equity investor Summit Partners. Founded in 2007 by industry veterans Michele Flynn, Greg Dickinson and John Abbatico, Hiperos has quickly emerged as a leader in the supplier lifecycle and risk management market.

Hiperos focuses on maximizing the value and minimizing the risks of a company’s relationships with vendors, resellers, service providers, distributors, partners or brokers. Companies such as Aetna, CA Technologies, MasterCard, Microsoft, PNC Bank, State Street, TD Bank, and United Technologies use Hiperos to build collaborative supplier relationship management programs—programs that reduce costs, lower business risks and drive improved performance.

“Hiperos is a rapidly growing, well-run company with a highly scalable, easily-configurable, software-as-a-service product that addresses major pain points for its customers. The business is on a great trajectory and reminds us of many of Summit Partners’ successful software investments,” said Thomas Jennings, Managing Director at Summit Partners.

“We are extremely pleased that Hiperos selected Summit to provide growth capital to accelerate the company’s strategic plans,” added Michael Medici, Vice President of Summit Partners who will be joining the Hiperos Board of Directors.

“Since our founding, Hiperos has focused on sustainable and financially sound growth,” said Michele Flynn, Chairman of Hiperos. “As we approached this important milestone for Hiperos, we sought a partnership with an investor that subscribed to a similar approach. Summit Partners distinguishes itself as a firm that focuses on key fundamentals: strong leadership, closely monitored metrics and fiscal responsibility. We found a great partner in Summit and know that they will contribute significantly to our next phase of growth.”

“We are looking forward to leveraging this new investment capital to accelerate our plans while maintaining our best-in-class customer satisfaction rating1,” said Greg Dickinson, CEO of Hiperos.  “Hiperos has helped define the new space of Extended Enterprise Management during the past four years and Summit Partners’ investment is further validation. I look forward to accelerating our leadership position with the addition of the Summit team.”

About Hiperos

‍Hiperos (www.hiperos.com) provides an on-demand solution for managing the extended enterprise of a company—the network of suppliers, service providers, outsourcers, partners, distributors, brokers, re-sellers, or contract manufacturers that contribute to a company’s value chain. Hiperos is used to assess the risk, monitor the compliance, measure the performance, and track the corporate responsibility goals of providers as well as to facilitate self-maintenance of information by those providers. Its client base includes many of the world’s leading companies such as Aetna, CA Technologies, MasterCard, Microsoft, PNC Bank, State Street, TD Bank, and United Technologies.

About Summit Partners

‍Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity investor that provides private equity and venture capital to rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $11 billion in capital and has provided growth equity, recapitalization and management buyout financing to more than 300 growing companies across a range of industries and geographies. Summit Partners seeks outstanding management teams that have built their companies to market leadership. Notable investments in the software sector include AvePoint, Hyperion Software, GoldenGate Software, McAfee, Postini, Sybari Software, Telerik and Unica.

• The Supply Base Management Application Market and Vendor Landscape, August 2010, Debbie Wilson, Gartner

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

‍by Adrianne DeLuca
This interview originally appeared on Nosh.com.

Morgan Zanotti has traversed the near entirety of the CPG landscape – going from various marketing stints to co-founding Primal Kitchen and later heading up new ventures as an executive at Kraft Heinz after the conglomerate acquired her brand in 2018. Her newest post, Summit Partners Executive In Residence, coalesces many of those experiences and brings her expertise to a different side of the equation.

We recently caught up with Morgan to learn more about the new role, how she assesses “profitable, high-growth, founder-owned businesses” and glean business-building tips, tricks and exclusive insights that can stand the test of time.

‍The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

What will be your main function within Summit’s executive-in-residence ecosystem?

My main function within Summit’s EIR program is to help identify new investment opportunities and advise growth-stage companies in the functional foods and health and wellness sectors.

One of my all-time favorite things to do is talk to executives and entrepreneurs – particularly in these sectors – so I’m having such a blast regularly meeting great companies and the founders and executives who lead them, hearing their stories, learning about their businesses and seeing if there’s a way we can add strategic value beyond capital. Summit has a team of thoughtful, smart professionals who really understand how to partner with executives and entrepreneurs to help drive value in the consumer sector. It’s really such an exciting opportunity for me.

How do you believe this role will compare to your position leading new ventures at Kraft? What were some key learnings you are taking with you from that role to Summit?

I’ve had the privilege to scale a business from $0 to $200 million in revenue and lead that business through an acquisition to Kraft Heinz. And then, I sat on the other side of the fence for the last five years and was fortunate enough to learn from one of the largest food companies in the world.

I believe marrying those two perspectives will be most valuable in my new role with Summit. Understanding how strategics evaluate businesses and really having lived the perspective of the strategic will be helpful in evaluating potential investments and how we can best support leaders with ambitious goals in the category.

How has the move from startup to conglomerate to now the investment-advisory side shaped your view of the industry and what it takes to build a successful food business today?

There’s that saying, “if you knew then what you know now, you probably would never do it again.” My partner at Primal Kitchen, Mark Sisson, and I always talk about what a blessing it was to have been naïve on how hard the industry is when we launched Primal Kitchen. And it feels like it’s only gotten more challenging with inflation, supply chain issues, freight, competition and more.

First and foremost, as a founder today, you really need to clearly define what success means for you. Do you want to build a lifestyle business? Do you want to run a DTC business forever, or are you looking for a partner to support your expansion into omnichannel? Do you envision acquiring other synergistic brands? What do you want to be when you grow up?

I believe you must have a clear vision and then build backwards from there. But one thing is certain: If you don’t have good unit economics or you’re banking on margin greatly improving with scale, you are dead in the water. And brand is still No. 1. Make sure you mean something to a group of passionate people. If you don’t mean something to someone you’re going to be easily replicated.

Tapping into your diverse array of industry experience – what is one learning that you believe can be applied to all areas of growing a business?

Do it yourself before you hire it out. I always said “scrappy” was my favorite word in business. We did everything in-house at Primal Kitchen – from managing 500-plus influencers in Google Sheets, to package design, to managing our media spend. I’m a big believer in leaning into your own team and building the skillset in-house vs. working with a bunch of agencies.

Are there any particular lessons from building Primal Kitchen that still shapes your view of what makes a successful business today?

When we launched Primal Kitchen, Mark Sisson had spent 10 years blogging and building a loyal following online. We had people to talk to. Creator businesses are much more common today than they were nine years ago, but our community was critical in helping us launch the brand with huge initial success. Of course, the product had to stand on its own to continue the momentum, but the community was instrumental in building authenticity and trust with our core consumer.

As founder-led brands think about a potential exit, what should be top of mind, particularly in today’s climate?

I see the best exits with brands that have high growth, real profitability, a strong brand, category/product focus, and huge upside/whitespace for someone to realize in the brand’s next chapter. This last point is something a lot of people forget about.

Sometimes that innovation idea or Walmart distribution is worth more in a PowerPoint deck than it is in actuality because there’s execution risk and the perceived size of that business ends up being smaller than what a potential acquirer would assume had you not ever expanded into that retailer. There’s risk in launching into three new categories or taking the Kroger placement before your brand is ready. You don’t want egg on your face when you go to sell your company.

Considering the current operating environment, what advice would you give a food business contemplating a new category or channel expansion?

Don’t do it? I’m kidding. Kind of. I wouldn’t enter a new category (unless you have some revolutionary innovation that’s never been done before) until your main category/business is solid: strong gross margin, velocity is top of the category, manufacturing is stable, product is consistent, packaging is working, you’ve maxed out innovation in that category. I wouldn’t launch into a new category until I had the capital to hire extra salespeople, hold additional inventory, and manage all of the things that happen with category expansion.

Channel expansion is more of a “when and how” than an “if” question. You’re probably going to have to do it at some point, so what’s the right way to do it for your business?

Are there specific opportunities or sectors you are excited to explore through this new role?

I’m a big believer in macro trends that are here to stay: low/no sugar, high protein, high fiber, low carb. Even in a world of GLP-1 medications, I’m still a believer in these longstanding trends that have survived decades of fluctuating “diets.”

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Reprinted with permission. View original article on Nosh.com.