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Venture Financing for LI Companies. The geoVue Story. Company History. Founded in 1994 by former commercial real estate executive to create simulations of the real estate market using GIS First customer: The Limited, with 13 divisions and 8,000 stores
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Venture Financing for LI Companies The geoVue Story
Company History • Founded in 1994 by former commercial real estate executive to create simulations of the real estate market using GIS • First customer: The Limited, with 13 divisions and 8,000 stores • Developed application based on customer requirements • Obtained agreement that geoVue would own IP • Raised $2.75 MM from small institutional investors in 2001 with follow-on rounds bringing the total to $6.5 MM by 2006
geoVue’s Profile in 2001 • Easy to use maps and demographics for site selection • Basic analytics offered in products • Staff: 15 employees • Mix of revenue: • Software: 30% • Data: 50% • Services: 20% • Major customers: The Limited, Dunkin’ Donuts, RadioShack, Trammell Crow, Simon Property Group
What the Investors Saw in 2001 • Company poised to exploit chain retail market with site selection tools, expanding into marketing and merchandise planning applications • Large potential market with limited competition • High barriers to entry due to required expertise in real estate and GIS • Business model with recurring revenue and upsell opportunities over time
What the Investors Saw in 2004 • Market was adopting technology very slowly due to complex value proposition and low IT spending • Strong customer base, increasing order sizes, but hard to see when sales would ramp up significantly • VC’s get impatient after 3 years and no clear exit in sight!
The Turning Point • In summer 2005, the Board (led by the founder) hired several former retail CEOs to review geoVue’s pitch and market potential • Result: new messaging and focus on key value propositions could lead to significant growth • Oracle, SAP, SAS, others mounted major assault on retail industry – none have product offering based on location optimization (geoVue’s core business)
The New Action Plan • Founder/CEO proposed hiring outside CEO with strong Marketing background to lead geoVue to next level – hired Rudy Nadilo in March 2006 • Management team strengthened in key areas and major marketing programs launched • Dramatic growth in sales, revenue, and sales pipeline in past year
What the Investors see Today • Company poised for significant growth in 2007 and into 8 figures by 2008 • geoVue is becoming the market leader in terms of the size and quality of new name accounts as well as retention of existing customers • Beginning to pursue strategic alliances with major IT players who are active in Retail industry for further growth beyond direct sales channel
geoVue’s Profile in 2007 • Market Leader in Location Optimization • Known for innovative, powerful analytics • Staff: 35 employees • Mix of revenue: • Software: 40% • Data: 20% • Services: 40% • Major customers: Dunkin’ Donuts, Albertsons, Walgreens, CKE Restaurants, Burlington Coat Factory, PapaMurphy’s
Summary of VC Likes and Dislikes for Companies in LI Space • Likes • Simple, compelling value proposition with existing customer validation • Combination of technology and domain expertise to achieve dominant position in target segments • Experienced management team with proven backgrounds in marketing, sales, technology, operations • Dislikes • Slick technology in search of applications • Solutions targeting specialized business units rather than enterprise • Complex value propositions that lack clear financial foundation
