Recent News

• November 18, 2021

  SaaS Ecommerce Provider Miva Announces Strategic Growth Investment from Equality Asset Management

  SaaS Ecommerce Provider Miva Announces Strategic Growth Investment from Equality Asset Management Investment will Support the Growth and Expansion of Miva’s Customer Base and Products November 18, 2021 – San Diego, CA – Miva, Inc., a leading mid-market and enterprise ecommerce platform announced it has secured a significant equity investment from Boston-based growth equity firm,

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  November 18, 2021

  SaaS Ecommerce Provider Miva Announces Strategic Growth Investment from Equality Asset Management

  SaaS Ecommerce Provider Miva Announces Strategic Growth Investment from Equality Asset Management

  Investment will Support the Growth and Expansion of Miva’s Customer Base and Products

  November 18, 2021 – San Diego, CA – Miva, Inc., a leading mid-market and enterprise ecommerce platform announced it has secured a significant equity investment from Boston-based growth equity firm, Equality Asset Management. The company will continue to be led by CEO, Rick Wilson. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

  “Emerging from the pandemic, the ecommerce industry is well positioned for growth as more merchants diversify their revenue sources and reevaluate customer engagement online,” said Rick Wilson, CEO of Miva. “As we double down on the things that continue to differentiate us in the market and focus on our growth, we are thrilled to partner with Equality Asset Management to enter the next phase in our evolution.”

  For more than twenty years, Miva has provided a flexible and modern ecommerce platform to retailers, wholesalers and distributors, equipping them with the tools and capabilities needed to scale their ecommerce operations.

  The company creates more agility for its B2B and D2C customers at every step of the sales journey. Whether integrating with existing systems, delivering curated shopping experiences, or creating a customizable online store for direct sales, the platform’s rich functionality, ease of use and customizable nature have positioned it as a technology of choice for thousands of companies globally.  Miva’s low total cost of ownership and high customer satisfaction ratings also continue to receive industry recognition, as customers unlock new sources of revenue on the platform.

  “For both mid-market and enterprise businesses alike, the requirements to manage back-end systems and supply chains have become increasingly complex due to the intricacy of product catalogs, price books and multiple customer touch points,” said Jeff Del Papa, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Equality. “Miva was early in recognizing the need to introduce affordable and configurable solutions that drive automation and reduce operating costs. We are pleased to partner with Rick and the team at Miva to support their future growth and success.”

  “Miva has made significant investments in its software and is poised to grow organically and through strategic acquisitions. We are excited to support this strategy for expansion, in partnership with Miva’s management team,” added Oscar Loynaz, Vice President at Equality.

  First Analysis acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Miva for the transaction. Sheppard Mullin LLP acted as legal advisor to Miva. Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal advisor to Equality.

  About Miva, Inc. 

  Miva offers a flexible, adaptable and scalable ecommerce platform that allows businesses to drive sales, maximize average order value, cut overhead costs, and increase revenue. Miva has been helping businesses realize their potential for over 20 years by empowering retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer sellers across all industries to transform their business through ecommerce. Learn more at www.miva.com.

  About Equality Asset Management
  Equality Asset Management is a growth-focused private equity firm. Equality provides equity capital and strategic and operating support to companies with long-term growth potential in the technology and tech-enabled services sectors. With decades of investment experience and operating experience, the firm has earned a reputation for value-creation, serving as steadfast partners to Founders and CEOs. Equality is based in Boston. For more information, please visit www.equalityassetmanagement.com.

   

  Media Contacts:

  Miva

  Marissa Pasillas (miva@walkersands.com) – 815.721.3086

  Equality Asset Management

  Beatrice Broderick (bbroderick@prosek.com) – 857.301.6949

   

• August 27, 2021

  The Art and Science of Scaling with Wendy Cebula

  The Art and Science of Scaling with Wendy Cebula Wendy is an Operating Partner at Equality Asset Management. She has more than twenty years of operating experience in high growth technology enabled businesses, both public and private. Her prior firms include edX, Vistaprint, MotherNature.com and Partners First. Equality Asset Management is a growth-focused private equity

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  August 27, 2021

  The Art and Science of Scaling with Wendy Cebula

  The Art and Science of Scaling with Wendy Cebula

  Wendy is an Operating Partner at Equality Asset Management. She has more than twenty years of operating experience in high growth technology enabled businesses, both public and private. Her prior firms include edX, Vistaprint, MotherNature.com and Partners First.

  Equality Asset Management is a growth-focused private equity firm. Equality provides equity capital and strategic and operating support to companies in the technology and tech-enabled service sectors. For more information, please visit www.equalityassetmanagement.com.

  Chris Keller of Archean Capital: Your experience was heavily influenced by your time at VistaPrint which you joined when it had $1 million of revenue and helped scale to over $1 billion; what were some of the key decisions in that growth?

  Wendy: Vistaprint’s founder and CEO had audacious ambitions for the company and for the customer value proposition. As an operator that meant constantly reassessing what we were doing well and what we needed to do better. The most impactful decisions came from challenging the status quo. For example, at certain periods in our growth, we needed smart, well-rounded employees who could quickly get up to speed on any domain. At other times, we’d recruit individuals with deep domain expertise. The profile of the person who figured out how to land our first channel partnership was different than that of the person who scaled sales and marketing globally. Constantly growing talent from within while recognizing when we needed outside perspective matched our talent with our business requirements.

  We also were deliberate about building scalable capabilities. An example was our approach to customer support. We piloted our approach from our corporate office. They identified customer needs and tested processes and tools. To scale, we ran a global site selection project and chose Jamaica which had an education system centered around hospitality and an enthusiastic labor pool. We identified the right balance between local leadership and ex-pats who knew the Vistaprint way. Our Montego Bay location grew to hundreds of team members and became an employer of choice while giving Vistaprint a cost and service advantage. We had many interesting 8:00am flights, working on our laptops among a plane full of vacation bound passengers enjoying free champagne.

  Chris: Can you discuss a decision that, looking back, was a pivotal one to Vistaprint’s success?

  Wendy: Early in Vistaprint’s lifecycle, one of our funding rounds fell through. We had just launched 2 new products which we were very excited about but that weren’t yet profitable. We knew we needed to cut our burn rate and we had heated discussions about whether to make big changes or to take a more measured approach. We made the difficult decision to cut resources to the bone, including turning off the new products to focus our resources on profitably growing our core. Later, we re-launched the products and began rebuilding our team with a clearer view. The decision didn’t just save the company. It helped us to appreciate the benefits of being bold and decisive, and identifying, prioritizing, and focusing on what is most important, and deprioritizing what isn’t.

  Chris: What, if any, mistakes were made along the way and how do you help management teams learn from your mistakes as opposed to learning by making their own?

  Wendy: I’ve certainly made too many mistakes to count. Shawn McGowan, also an Equality operating partner, and I have each held roles at several growth-stage companies and have been board members or advisors to others. While a given team might encounter a situation once or twice, Shawn and I may have collectively observed a similar situation many times. Our approach is to add these additional real-world data points and perspective to the pool of information available as management makes the decision.

  For example, we often talk to founders with a great product. Their growth plans now require them to successfully build out a sales and marketing team to accelerate growth, but they have little or no experience doing so successfully. Shawn and I have collectively vetted many sales and marketing leaders. We are available as thinking partners on the profile and interview approaches and as members of the interview team. In fact, we just leaned into a process to recruit a new CRO to one of our portfolio companies. While our participation doesn’t guarantee every hire will be a fit, it increases the probability of success.

  Chris: I’m glad you mentioned recruiting. One of your skills is human capital assessment. How does your expertise help Equality pre or post investment?

  Wendy: Shawn and I have experience building high performing teams. The fact that we are included in the deal process from day one affords us a real opportunity to get to know and evaluate teams pre-close.

  First, we ask the CEO to walk us through their organization design and team. We then ask each functional leader to do the same. In all diligence meetings we observe interpersonal dynamics, how challenging questions are handled, and each individual’s command of their metrics and domain. We form hypothesis to test throughout the diligence process. Are roles, responsibilities, and goals clearly defined and aligned with incentives? Is decision making appropriately distributed? Does the team have the mix of experience and skills to execute on their strategy? Is the team diverse and inclusive? What is the company culture?

  We do a lot of work with founders. The brilliance of a founder is often their vision, passion and commitment to their teams and ideas. This can produce very high-quality products and financial results, but it very often results in leadership teams and organizations that are non-traditional when compared to larger businesses. Fully assessing the capabilities of a team, identifying gaps, and helping leaders to focus on areas where they have a superpower is very important for achieving a long-term scalable organization and ultimately for driving growth and margins. Our approach gives us clear visibility into team strengths and weaknesses and provides a data driven approach to making team and organizational decisions.

  Chris: What’s been the greatest lesson you’ve learned as it relates to people & talent?

  Wendy: My greatest learning is the power in identifying someone’s superpower and finding a way to get them into a role that takes full advantage of those strengths.

  Chris: What do you like most about being an operating partner at Equality?

  Wendy: I get a lot of satisfaction from supporting individuals and teams. Moments where my advice or partnership have a positive impact on someone else’s success are very rewarding.

  At Equality, we are entrepreneurs at heart, and we apply that passion to supporting the entrepreneurs in which we invest. We use an operator-to-operator approach which means the operating partners participate in all aspects of the investment process. By the time a deal closes we have relationships with management, an understanding of the company’s strategy, areas of operating strength and opportunity, and are aligned both internally and with management on the post-close plan. We can do all of this with empathy, humility, and perspective, having spent many years in the shoes of the management team. Several founder/CEOs have shared feedback that they selected Equality as their partner in part because of the differentiated value our operating partners could bring. It is fun to be part of a team that values and benefits from our experience.

  Chris: What do you like to do outside of work?

  Wendy: At home I have a husband and two teenage girls. They would each be quick to tell you I run our household much like I’d run a business. We maintain a backlog of chores and graph our expenses to visualize year on year trends and variance to budget. We maintain a strong culture of transparency, accountability and 360 feedback. In my downtime I enjoy watching sports, working out at Orange Theory, taking our dogs for walks and reading.

  Chris: Classic! I can imagine family dinners with PowerPoint. Thanks for your time. I enjoyed it.

• January 17, 2021

  LEADING INSURANCE SOFTWARE COMPANY PCMI ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT FROM EQUALITY

  Investment will Support Product Expansion and Client Acquisition

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  January 17, 2021

  LEADING INSURANCE SOFTWARE COMPANY PCMI ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT FROM EQUALITY

  Investment will Support Product Expansion and Client Acquisition

  January 19, 2021 – Park Ridge, IL– PCMI (Policy Claims Management International), a leading provider of administration software for the automotive, consumer and industrial warranty and service management markets announced its first equity investment from Boston-based growth equity firm, Equality Asset Management, and Chicago-based, First Analysis. Financial terms were not disclosed.

  PCMI offers a modern suite of software solutions for policy administration, claims management, risk management and the financial management of insurance products. PCMI’s customers include leading original equipment manufacturers, third party administrators, self-administrators and insurers who offer and manage warranties, service contracts and other finance and insurance products. Since inception, PCMI’s software has been used to administer more than 50 million policies and process more than 23 million claims.

  “In 2012, I saw the opportunity to introduce a modern, purpose-built software to a market that was underserved. Since then, we have worked tirelessly on our mission to build the most comprehensive administration platform in the market. Our passion for technology and commitment to continuous improvement has led us to become a leader in our industry” said Mark Nagelvoort, President & CEO of PCMI. “Equality Asset Management has a track record of investing in SaaS based companies within high growth markets and can provide operational expertise that will allow us to accelerate our growth initiatives. Their support will be invaluable as we continue to make innovations on our platform and expand product capabilities to meet the evolving business needs of our customers. I’m thrilled we have them as a trusted partner as we enter this exciting new phase of our journey.”

  “Mark and the leadership team and employees of PCMI have built a remarkable company. Their focus on product, deep understanding of their customers and markets and culture of innovation have been core to their success.” said Jeff Del Papa, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Equality Asset Management. “The market for warranty administration software is in an attractive upgrade cycle and PCMI is very well positioned with a complete, modern platform. We’re excited to work alongside this experienced team and to support PCMI’s expansion.”
  “PCMI is the demonstrated category leader, consistently delivering essential, high value solutions to customers. As consumer demands evolve, the need for flexible software will continue to increase across the F&I value chain” added Oscar Loynaz, Vice President at Equality.

  With this investment, PCMI will continue its focus on product expansion and client acquisition in North America and globally.
  First Analysis acted as the exclusive financial advisor to PCMI for the transaction. Winston & Strawn LLP acted as legal advisor to PCMI. Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal advisor to Equality Asset Management.

  About PCMI Corporation
  PCMI offers a modular package of software solutions for the administration of F&I Products, Service Contracts, and Extended Warranties. PCMI’s SaaS platform, Policy Claim and Reporting Solutions™ (PCRS), supports and automates the full lifecycle of all aftermarket products and provides the most flexible environment for administrators, insurers, OEM’s, agents, and dealers to launch new products. Our global team enables continuous around-the-clock innovation and customer-focused support. Please visit www.pcmicorp.com for more information

  About Equality Asset Management
  Equality Asset Management is a growth-focused private equity firm. Equality provides equity capital and strategic and operating support to companies with long-term growth potential in the technology and tech-enabled healthcare sectors. With decades of investment experience and operating experience, the firm has earned a reputation for value-creation, serving as steadfast partners to Founders and CEOs. Equality is based in Boston. For more information, please visit www.equalityassetmanagement.com.

  Media Contacts:

  PCMI
  Mark Nagelvoort (mark.nagelvoort@pcmicorp.com) – 847.653.6916 ext. 100
  Laura Scahill (laura.scahill@pcmicorp.com) – 847.653.6916 ext. 115

  Equality Asset Management
  Tara Ciongoli (tciongoli@equalityam.com) – 617.290.2510
  Beatrice Broderick (bbroderick@prosek.com) – 857.301.6949

• July 28, 2020

  MINDOULA ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT FROM EQUALITY ASSET MANAGEMENT

  Silver Spring, Maryland — Mindoula, a leading population health management company focused on transforming behavioral healthcare in the U.S., today announces it has secured a strategic investment from Boston-based growth equity firm, Equality Asset Management. Mindoula’s technology-enabled platform identifies, engages and serves patients with complex behavioral health, medical and social challenges across the complete continuum

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  July 28, 2020

  MINDOULA ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT FROM EQUALITY ASSET MANAGEMENT

  Silver Spring, Maryland — Mindoula, a leading population health management company focused on transforming behavioral healthcare in the U.S., today announces it has secured a strategic investment from Boston-based growth equity firm, Equality Asset Management.

  Mindoula’s technology-enabled platform identifies, engages and serves patients with complex behavioral health, medical and social challenges across the complete continuum of care. The company specializes in populations with behavioral health challenges and comorbid medical conditions, specialty populations such as victims of interpersonal violence, as well as those who benefit from behavioral treatment in a primary care setting or within their communities.

  “As we continue to execute on our mission to transform behavioral healthcare, we are excited to bring on a partner who shares our vision,” says Mindoula Founder and CEO Steve Sidel. “We are impressed by the deep investment experience, healthcare expertise, and collaborative approach of Tom Roberts and the entire Equality team, and we look forward to our growth together.”

  Since its founding in 2013, Mindoula has rapidly grown its partnerships with health plans, health systems, primary care practices and hospitals, to improve population health, enhance patient care, and reduce the total cost of healthcare in pre-acute, post-acute and acute settings, as well as in transitions of care.

  “Mindoula’s accelerating growth is a testament to the company’s mission-driven and passionate management team, its best-in-class technology platform and around-the-clock synchronous support model,” says Tom Roberts, Founder and CEO of Equality Asset Management. “We look forward to actively partnering with Mindoula to support its continued rapid growth and its mission to address behavioral health challenges for patients in significant need across the continuum of care.”

  Zeigler acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Mindoula for the transaction. Cooley LLP acted as legal advisor to Mindoula.  Ropes and Gray LLP acted as legal advisor to Equality.  Existing institutional investors, AXA Venture Partners and Morgan Noble Healthcare Partners, also participated. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

   

  About Mindoula   

  Mindoula is a leading population health management company that scales the human connection through technology to address mind, body, and life challenges.  Mindoula identifies, engages, and serves populations that might otherwise be overlooked or left behind, and delivers tech-enabled, team-based, 24/7 support across the continuum of care.  Mindoula’s adaptive data science approach, multi-platform technology stack, virtual Collaborative Care Program, and virtual + in-person care extension solutions enable its enterprise partners to achieve improved outcomes and significantly reduce costs by integrating behavioral, medical, and social determinants of health.  Headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, Mindoula currently operates in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Nevada, Louisiana, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and California with national expansion plans to meet the growing need for integrated whole person care.  For more information, please visit www.mindoula.com.

   

  About Equality

  Equality Asset Management is a growth-focused private equity firm with a mission to help build exceptional companies. Equality provides equity capital and strategic and operating support to companies with long-term growth potential in technology and tech-enabled healthcare. Equality typically invests $25 million to $150 million of capital per company for growth equity or to support shareholder recapitalizations. The firm is based in Boston.

   

  Media Contacts

  Mindoula                         

  Aileen Kantor (Aileen.Kantor@mindoula.com) – 301.537.8996

   

  Equality Asset Management

  Beatrice Broderick (bbroderick@prosek.com) – 857.301.6949

  Tara Ciongoli (tciongoli@equalityam.com) – 617.290.2510

• July 24, 2018

  EQUALITY ASSET MANAGEMENT FORMS ADVISORY BOARD

  Boston, Massachusetts, July 23, 2018 – Equality Asset Management (“Equality”) today announced that it has formed its Advisory Board, which will be responsible for providing Equality and its companies with strategic guidance, industry insight, and deep functional expertise. The board is comprised of the following six members, all who are seasoned executives with strong track

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  July 24, 2018

  EQUALITY ASSET MANAGEMENT FORMS ADVISORY BOARD

  Boston, Massachusetts, July 23, 2018 – Equality Asset Management (“Equality”) today announced that it has formed its Advisory Board, which will be responsible for providing Equality and its companies with strategic guidance, industry insight, and deep functional expertise. The board is comprised of the following six members, all who are seasoned executives with strong track records and diverse backgrounds: José Alvarez (Harvard Business School), Kim Goodwin (Avanico Holdings), Brent Henry (Mintz Levin), Jay McGonigle (FactSet), Susie Mulder (NIC+ZOE), and Luis Ubiñas (Electronic Arts).

  “These six individuals are highly accomplished leaders in their fields,” said Thomas S. Roberts, Founder and CEO of Equality. “They are not only visionaries and thought-leaders, they are CEOs themselves, and long-time mentors to CEOs. Together, they provide a diversity of thought, disciplines, industries, and backgrounds. I am honored to have six such outstanding leaders join our Equality team.”

  José Alvarez
  José Alvarez is a leading expert in supply chain management logistics, marketing, and retail strategy. He is currently a member of the faculty at Harvard Business School. José most recently served as President and CEO of Stop & Shop, a subsidiary of Royal Ahold. Previously, he worked with Shaw’s Supermarkets, American Stores Company and Jewel Food Stores. José also served as a Board Director of TJX Companies for eleven years. José serves on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and Daily Table and is Chairman of the Board of the Joyce Foundation. José earned an MBA from the University of Chicago, and an AB degree in History from Princeton University.

  C. Kim Goodwin
  C. Kim Goodwin is an accomplished CEO, CIO, portfolio manager, and Board Director. Kim currently serves as CEO and CIO of Avanico Holdings in Puerto Rico, and is currently a NonExecutive Director of PineBridge Investments, and an independent Director of Popular Inc. (BPOP) based in Puerto Rico. Previously Kim served as the Global Head of Equities for Asset Management at Credit Suisse Group, and as CIO of Equities of State Street Research. Previously Kim served for many years on the Board of Akamai Technologies and CheckFree Corporation (acquired by FiServ in 2005), and as a Director of various equity funds within the Allianz Global Investors family of funds. Kim also serves on the Board of Trustees and on the PRINCO endowment board of Princeton University. Kim holds two Master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, one in Public Affairs, an M.B.A. in Finance from The McCombs School of Business, and an AB cum laude in Politics from Princeton University.

  Brent Henry
  Brent Henry has spent over thirty years advising health care clients on complex strategic and regulatory issues. Currently, Brent serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University, and as an Attorney at Mintz Levin. Previously, Brent was SVP and General Counsel of Partners HealthCare, the largest hospital network in New England. Brent also served as VP and General Counsel at MedStar Health, and taught health care law at Howard University and the University of Maryland. Brent earned a J.D. from Yale Law School, a Master of Urban Studies from the Yale School of Art and Architecture, and an AB degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School.

  Jay McGonigle
  Jay McGonigle has an exceptional thirty-year plus track record of leading, advising, and growing successful companies. Jay is the Lead Outside Director of FactSet (NASDAQ: FDS) a provider of software and information to the financial services industry. Previously, Jay served as Chairman and CEO of the Corporate Executive Board Co. (NASDAQ: EXBD), which he led through its IPO, and as a consultant for McKinsey & Company. Jay has also served as Board Member and Senior Advisor to numerous information services companies, including SNL, Motista, Ogone, and Payscale. Jay has also been an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and a Visiting Professor at ESADE Business and Law School in Barcelona. Jay earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an AB from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School.

  Susie Mulder
  Susie Mulder has been both a CEO and a counselor to CEOs, for over twenty years. Susie is currently the Chief Executive Officer of NIC+ZOE, a privately-held woman’s apparel company.
  Prior to joining NIC+ZOE, Susie was a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company where she was a leader in the retail and consumer practice for fifteen years, specializing in marketing and organization. Susie also serves on the Board of Directors of Sally Beauty, and on the Board of Overseers of Boston Children’s Hospital. Susie received her MBA from the Harvard Business School with distinction, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with great distinction from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

  Luis Ubiñas
  Luis Ubiñas is a well-known leader in the telecommunication, technology, and media industries.
  Luis has led CEOs of Fortune 100 companies and significant nonprofit organizations for several decades. In the private sector, Luis is Lead Director of Electronic Arts (EA), and serves on the Boards of CommerceHub, Boston Private Financial Holdings, GFR Media, and Shorelight Education. Previously Luis was a Director at McKinsey & Company, leading the firm’s media practice on the West Coast. Additionally, Luis has had a distinguished record of leadership in the nonprofit sector. Luis is currently President of the Board of Trustees of the Pan American Development Foundation, and previously served as President of the Ford Foundation, on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, the New York Public Library, among many others. Luis received an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar, and earned an AB degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he was named a Truman Scholar and a John Winthrop Scholar.

   

  About Equality

  Equality Asset Management is a growth-focused private equity firm with a mission to help build exceptional companies. Equality provides equity capital and strategic and operating support to companies with long-term growth potential in technology and tech-enabled healthcare. Equality typically invests $25 million to $150 million of capital per company for growth equity or to support shareholder recapitalizations. The firm is based in Boston. For more information, please visit www.equalityassetmanagement.com.