When first established, Augusta Advisors saw a problem in their industry: potential targets presented with quantity over quality. Founder and CEO, Cam Bryan, wanted to change that by helping their clients find not just a big quantity of target companies, but actually well matching target companies.
The Chicago based M&A advisory firm, has clients spanning across the US from varying buy-side industries, and with each comes their own unique requirements for acquisition targets. Having a background in private equity Bryan knows these challenges first hand, and that to combat them efficiently he’d need the best tools to assist.
CHALLENGE
Challenges in Identifying All Small Businesses within Specific Verticals
With their clients having various unique profiles and needs for acquisitions, Augusta Advisors understood that they would need software that covered them all. Thus, they explored various tools. Some that, for example, relied on conference lists for their data, he noticed did not cover most smaller businesses. After this, Bryan realized that a modern AI solution might be the answer to his problem. Then he found Inven.
SOLUTION
Identifying Similar Companies and Their Data Effortlessly with AI
Many of Inven's features impressed Augusta Advisors. One feature that has helped his searches is the ability to search with example companies.
”If one company is a fit for that buyer, you're obviously going to want to find something very similar to that,” he explains, “I've gotten good use out of that particular feature within the platform.” Another beneficial feature being Inven’s 'intent to sell' features, which offers professionals, particularly on the buy-side, to further filter searches.
“Having that additional context on both the company and the decision maker is definitely helpful. It allows you to prioritize which companies make the most sense to reach out first based not only on the company’s characteristics but also on the founder's current situation.” - Cam Bryan on the 'intent to sell' feature
Bryan also highlights several additional features that have proven valuable for Augusta Advisors, including headcount growth tracking and custom company descriptions. "Inven just feels very thorough," he notes.
RESULTS
Over 30% More Target Companies Compared to Other Software Solutions
On other softwares, he comments how he felt a lack in certain spaces, they didn't fully cover everything he and his clients were looking for. But Inven filled in those gaps. “Inven really just checked all the boxes, like, okay, I'm really capturing everything here,” Bryan says.
Augusta Advisors estimated that with Inven’s help, they have been able to find over 30% more target companies within their searches compared to other similar company search engines, and overall achieved, as Bryan notes, “a more of a fulsome, thorough search”. Establishing not just quantity, but more importantly quality for their clients.
