Why are we taking Institutional Equity investment now?

On September 3rd, we announced that Geoforce had accepted a significant round of financing from Houston Ventures and Palmetto Partners, two of Houston’s most respected investment firms. For those who know me well, I thought I’d proactively address a few questions that are surely headed my way, such as:

• Why now? Haven’t you always wanted to maintain full control of Geoforce, so that you can mold it into a company that excelled across the board?

• You’ve made it into your sixth year without institutional equity investors, and the company is already financially sound. Has something changed?

• Will anything at Geoforce be different going forward?

So what did lead us to finally decide to take on Institutional Equity Financing partners? Over the past year a couple of things became clear:

1. We had more opportunity as a company, particularly in international expansion, than we had resources to capitalize on them. In oil and gas, timing is everything, so we risked missing out on some great opportunities without increased investment in growth.
2. As we grew, we continued to enter new frontiers where the experience of people who had “been there/done that” was needed. We knew we could benefit from relationships with others who had been down this road before within the oil and gas technology sector.

Once we made the decision to go for it, then came the tough decision about who to work with. Over the years, we had conversations with over one hundred growth capital companies. But only a handful of these companies had a true understanding of the oil and gas market, how technology should be applied in the oilfield, and how, and where, we should grow. If we were going take funding from institutional equity investors, we wanted more than capital; we wanted a true partner.   Given their extensive experience with international oilfield technology companies like Rignet and LiquidFrameworks, Houston Ventures (and their friends at Palmetto Partners) clearly had an understanding of the oil and gas industry that eclipsed anyone else we spoke with. After many discussions, it was obvious that we thought alike on the sense of urgency – and priorities – for continued rapid expansion. And we also were in alignment about the high level of service required to succeed with oil and gas customers. Finally, we realized that without giving up day-to-day control, we could also gain a trusted advisor in Houston Ventures. So, at that point, the path was clear.   With this investment, we will create a more proactive and hands-on customer experience group, offer more premium products, and establish a presence everywhere our customers are, globally. One thing that won’t change is our commitment to doing things right – for our customers, our employees and, now, for our investors.   It’s fitting that this funding announcement takes place today, September 3, 2013. It was almost exactly one year ago that Geoforce announced our acquisition of Sypes Canyon Communications. At the time, I blogged about the reasons for that move. In looking back at those comments a year later, they remain extremely relevant.   So here we are – AGAIN. It’s – STILL – an exciting time.