This week we find ourselves reflecting on our five-year journey with SecureLink, which came to an end on Monday following the closing of a transaction to sell the company.

Exits are bittersweet for our firm and people. On the one hand, we are thrilled when we sell a company to be delivering returns to our Limited Partners. On the other, they mark the end of a long journey and partnership, one that often begins long before an investment is even announced.

In the case of SecureLink, we spent several years establishing and building a relationship with the Founder and CEO, Jeff Swearingen. Being headquartered in Austin, we pay attention to the technology sector here, and Vista got to know Jeff and the work he was doing. Our team still remembers driving to the office for the first time – designed as a “Hill Country Spaceship,” the office was new, modern and filled with lots of great office perks. There was an astronaut sculpture suspended from the ceiling in the entryway and every conference room had a space themed name.

We were thrilled to invest in 2017. When considering private equity firms, Jeff and his team were looking for a partner who aligned with their goals for the company, including values like “play to win” and “think long-term.” Vista’s drive to succeed, its pursuit of continuous improvement and in-depth knowledge of running a software business differentiated us, and Jeff and his team were drawn to Vista’s detailed operational expertise. In his own words, “There’s no substitute for practice.”

In the beginning, it was the Jeff and Joe show. They divided the company between growth (Jeff) and product and operations (Joe). They had worked together for years and complemented each other well. In the first 90 days, we filled out the rest of the executive team, hiring five new executives (CFO, VP Product, VP HR, VP Sales and a VP of Marketing) and kept up that rapid pace on hiring and operational execution in the years to come.

Over the course of our partnership, SecureLink expanded its customer base, tripled annual recurring revenue and grew employee headcount by 350%. Importantly, the company was able to maintain its strong culture during this period, earning Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards and recognition on Built In Austin’s Best Places to Work lists annually for the past three years.

The investment and exit are testament to the strong and trusted relationships Vista builds with founders and executive teams and the power of Vista’s knowledge, network and value creation partnership.

Congratulations to SecureLink and its amazing team. We are privileged to have partnered together and wish you all the best in this next stage.