Post to Purchase

Two years ago, Shawn Scanlon saw a post on the Vistage Deal Network that would change the trajectory of Atlanta-based GSI, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in enterprise applications and cloud/hosting services, where he serves as executive vice president.

“We are looking for a private equity investment of $700K+ CAD (cash available for distribution) to grow and expand in North America and hire more project management/technical resources,” the post read.
“We already have a full sales team and a marketing team for lead generation and sales.”

Meanwhile, Flawless Inbound co-founders Saher Ghattas and Liliane Youssef sought investors for their Canadian-based HubSpot marketing company. Instead of an investor, they found a buyer. Scanlon saw Flawless Inbound as an opportunity to enhance GSI’s enterprise applications, automation and cloud services.

“It was a natural extension of some of the other products that we implement,” Scanlon says. “We felt like it would be a good fit for us.”

Scanlon reached out to Ghattas and asked if he would be interested in someone taking an ownership stake in Flawless Inbound or if an acquisition was an option. The inquiry opened the door to numerous conversations that resulted in an acquisition.

“Saher had an opportunity to move on from Flawless Inbound and into a role working directly for HubSpot,” Youssef says. “With Saher leaving for another opportunity, it was not going to be easy to run the company and keep evolving on my own. I liked the idea of an acquisition.”

One of Scanlon’s top priorities during acquisition talks was to ensure the two cultures would be a good fit, and discussions later confirmed it would be a win-win for both organizations. But Canada has different rules and regulations than the United States, so acquiring a Canadian-based company requires even more due diligence than buying one based in the United States.

It took a little over 18 months to complete the deal, but once the transaction was complete, it made it easier for GSI to hire in Canada to support its NetSuite services. “Before, we had to outsource to a company to handle all the benefits and HR. It never worked out that well,” Scanlon recalls. “Having a company based in Canada, familiar with the rules, regulations, taxes and payroll for Canadian employees made a big difference for us.”

Youssef believes the Vistage Networks are invaluable for moving a business forward.

“There are always opportunities on the Networks, and if you’re not using them, you’re missing out,” Youssef says. “Vistage and the Networks bring like-minded people together to share and find valuable information that can’t be found in a book.”

While Scanlon found GSI’s opportunity for strategic expansion on the Deal Network, he regularly uses multiple Vistage Networks and says the value extends into all areas of life.

“Vistage Networks are something that’s really hard to put a price on,” Scanlon says. “They have given us a lot of opportunities we wouldn’t have found otherwise.”