Our Philosophy
We keep entrepreneurs and executives at center of the investment strategy
Investment Focus
We partner with growing, niche businesses who find value in our expertise
Target Company Characteristics
- Differentiated product or service model
- Demonstrated ability to grow revenue 10%+
- Attractive margins and healthy free cash flow dynamics
- Owners seeking an experienced team to support growth or make strategic investments to increase demand
Transaction Dynamics
- Entrepreneur / family-owned or controlled companies
- Management buyouts
- Ownership or senior management team transitions
- Corporate carve-outs
- Control investments
Approach
We leverage decades of experience investing in and operating small businesses to support your company’s needs. Our customized support will be developed based on the following approach:
A partnership with Skylark will be rooted in a shared mission, guiding the long-term strategy of the business. As the business succeeds, so will its employees, leadership, and Skylark’s team. Incentives are structured for everyone to benefit from the company’s achievement.
Strategic decisions can rarely be left to address during pre-scheduled calls or meetings. Lost hours, days, weeks can derail execution. Skylark is an active partner – available all times of the day to support executive teams with strategic decisions, tactical execution, crisis management, and all matters in between. Our small team is structured for a flexible approval process, offering swift and decisive guidance when necessary.
We prioritize investments that yield long-term growth. We routinely overbuild infrastructure early in a partnership. Historically, our early investments have helped past partner companies sustain long-term growth, often years after our ownership.
Great ideas are ubiquitous, but will fade away without consistent execution. Small businesses often lack the resources to consistently execute a growth-oriented strategy. Skylark supports execution by acting as an extension of your team - both as investors and operators. John and Amy Porter, Founders of Skylark, started their own small business (AffiniPay) and led strategic execution. Their efforts at AffiniPay led to transformative organic growth, including two successful partnerships with private equity funds. As successful entrepreneurs, they are adept at guiding leadership teams towards developing execution roadmaps.
