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LaunchPad Home Group Acquires TLC Inspections

AUSTIN, TX and DENVER, CO (August 15, 2023) – LaunchPad Home Group (“LaunchPad”), the nation’s premier provider of home inspection and residential services, announced today that it has acquired TLC Inspections (“TLC”).

Located in Marble Falls, Texas, TLC Inspections has served the Texas Hill Country since 2007 offering residential and ancillary inspection services.

“We are extremely excited for the growth opportunities provided for our team members and the continued growth and expansion of our brand,” said TLC owners Nick and Laina Moomaw. This will also add exponential value to our clients and the professionals we work with daily.”

Scott Swayze, CEO for LaunchPad, said: “TLC further strengthens our inspection offering in Texas and I am happy to welcome them to the LaunchPad family. Nick and Laina have built an amazing team that will be a great fit with our organization.”

LaunchPad brands Max Home and Axium Inspections currently serve Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston. TLC will expand LaunchPad’s footprint in Austin and the broader Texas Hill Country.

About LaunchPad Home Group
LaunchPad Home Group is a family of regional home inspection and services brands sharing relationships, support systems, best practices, and capital base for the mutual growth of our brands.  LaunchPad’s mission is to create lifelong relationships by simplifying home ownership at every stage of the journey, from inspections to remodeling to day-to-day safekeeping and maintenance. For more information, visit www.launchpadhomegroup.com.

Today, with the help of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, LaunchPad is the fastest growing residential inspection company in the US and provides a full suite of services to assist customers in their home ownership journey.

About RFE Investment Partners

RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the United States. RFE is a long-standing Connecticut-based firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market leading middle market companies.   RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX.

 

September 13, 2023
Veransa Group Hires Industry Veteran Dave Vaughn as Chief Executive Officer

SARASOTA, FL (September 7, 2023) –Veransa Group, Inc, a company that transforms green waste into valuable commodities on an industrial scale through vertical integration of waste collection centers and manufacturing facilities, has hired Dave Vaughn as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will be integral in Veransa’s rapid growth by driving best practices across the company’s operations, managing integrations of acquisitions and greenfield locations, and overseeing the development of compost and other sustainable, beneficial reuse, products.

Dave Vaughn brings over 35 years of experience in the environmental services and waste collections industry, including 17+ years of executive operational leadership in the organic recycling space. Before joining Veransa, he served as executive vice president of the West Region at Denali Water Solutions, a leading diversified environmental services company focused on wastewater, water residuals, and biosolids products and services, including composting and green waste recycling.

Prior to Denali Water Solutions, Vaughn’s experience included roles as executive vice president at Athens Services, family-owned waste collection and recycling company in greater Los Angeles. He also served as vice president and senior director at Recology, where he was responsible for optimizing their operations and driving the strategic direction.

“I am extremely excited to join the talented team of industry leaders with the Veransa Group,” said Vaughn.

“Dave’s operational expertise and wealth of knowledge in Veransa’s space is a perfect match with who we are and where we are headed,” said Roger Johansson, co-founder of Veransa who had temporarily served as Interim CEO and will remain an integral part of the leadership team focused on business development and growth initiatives.
Veransa’s equity partner is RFE Investment Partners IX – a lower middle market private equity firm with a 40+ year history supporting small growing companies.

About Veransa
Veransa specializes in transforming urban wood and yard waste into valuable commodities on an industrial scale. Veransa vertically integrates green waste collection centers with commodities manufacturing facilities to achieve highest-value use, waste-to-organic commodities production. Veransa aggregates green waste and transforms it, using electrically powered processing equipment, into useful products on an industrial scale, including soil-regenerating, OMRI Listed®, organic compost and blended soils, that are free of biosolids or manure. It also processes wood waste into the feedstock for decorative mulch and renewable energy. Veransa is an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners, based in the Tampa-bay region of Florida.

About RFE
RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the United States. RFE is a long-standing Connecticut-based firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market leading middle market companies. RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX. For more information, please visit www.rfeip.com.

September 7, 2023
LaunchPad Home Group Acquires Axium Inspections and ListingPro by Axium

AUSTIN, TX and DENVER, CO (August 15, 2023) – LaunchPad Home Group (“LaunchPad”), the nation’s premier provider of home inspection and residential services, announced today that it has acquired Axium Inspections (“Axium”) and ListingPro by Axium (“ListingPro”) of Denver, CO.

Axium has served the Denver metropolitan community for over 15 years and has grown to become Colorado’s leading provider of residential inspections and radon mitigation services. Axium will serve as LaunchPad’s Colorado hub and will also bolster LaunchPad’s existing operations in Dallas and Atlanta.

In addition to providing inspection services within Colorado, Axium has developed systems and processes to successfully service national accounts across the U.S. Axium owner Wade Williamson will join LaunchPad as Chief Business Development Officer and will focus on building national and commercial partnerships.

“The partnership with LaunchPad is an incredible opportunity to help Axium better serve our national partners through LaunchPad’s scale and operational expertise,” said Axium CEO Wade Williamson. “I am excited to be joining the LaunchPad team and scale Axium’s operations in the Mountain West region.”

Scott Swayze, CEO for LaunchPad, said: “Axium has built a strong reputation in the market and brings meaningful relationships with national partners. We are thrilled to bring Wade and his exceptional team onboard the LaunchPad platform.”

ListingPro is a leading provider of sign creation, placement, and pre-listing home inspection services to real estate professionals in the Denver MSA.

“We anticipate rolling out ListingPro’s concierge services for real estate professionals to all of LaunchPad’s inspection partners later this year,” Swayze added.

Axium Inspections
Axium Inspections is Colorado’s largest and most referred home inspection company and has served real estate partners, home buyers, and home sellers since 2007. Over the past several years Axium has expanded to service multiple high-volume clients in over 25 markets nationwide.

About LaunchPad Home Group
LaunchPad Home Group is a family of regional home inspection and services brands sharing relationships, support systems, best practices, and capital base for the mutual growth of our brands.  LaunchPad’s mission is to create lifelong relationships by simplifying home ownership at every stage of the journey, from inspections to remodeling to day-to-day safekeeping and maintenance. For more information, visit www.launchpadhomegroup.com.

Today, with the help of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, LaunchPad is the fastest growing residential inspection company in the US and provides a full suite of services to assist customers in their home ownership journey.

About RFE Investment Partners

RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the United States. RFE is a long-standing Connecticut-based firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market leading middle market companies.   RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX.

 

August 15, 2023
RFE Investment Partners Hires New Principal Ron Ahuja

WESTPORT, CT (August 1, 2023) – RFE Investment Partners (“RFE”) is pleased to announce the hiring of Ron Ahuja as a Principal on the investment team.

Prior to joining RFE, Mr. Ahuja served as a Vice President with Heartwood Partners, and with First Atlantic Capital, middle-market private equity firms. At both firms, Mr. Ahuja was active in all aspects of the investment and portfolio management process and developed significant experience in buy-and-build transactions across niche manufacturing, packaging, and business services companies. Mr. Ahuja began his career as a management consultant at Bain & Co. in their Private Equity group and Monitor Deloitte in their Strategy & Operations group.

Mr. Ahuja received his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and his B.S. in Finance and Economics from the NYU Stern School of Business.

“We are thrilled to have Ron join the RFE team” said Michael Rubel, Managing Director at RFE.  “Ron’s experience and personal style are a great match for RFE’s culture and investment approach”.

“RFE is excited to have someone of Ron’s caliber join the group as we continue to build our execution expertise in the middle market” said Paul Schilpp, Managing Director at RFE.

At RFE, Mr. Ahuja will focus on leading new platform and add-on acquisition investments and managing the firm’s portfolio company investments.  Mr. Ahuja is currently active on Ensemble IQ (an RFE VIII company) as well as ZRG Partners and Friendly Home Services (both RFE IX companies).

 

About RFE Investment Partners

RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the United States. RFE is a long-standing Connecticut-based firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market leading middle market companies.   RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX.

 

 

August 1, 2023
LaunchPad Home Group’s Residential Inspector of America Acquires Nashville Home Inspection

AUSTIN, TX (July 26, 2023) – LaunchPad Home Group (“LaunchPad”), the nation’s premier provider of home inspection and residential services, announced today that its subsidiary Residential Inspector of America (“RIA”) has acquired Nashville Home Inspection (“NHI”) of Nashville, TN. NHI has served residents and prospective homeowners in the greater Nashville community since 1999, becoming a leader in residential and ancillary inspection services in middle Tennessee.

“We are excited to join the fastest growing residential inspection company in the United States,” said NHI founders and owners John and Joan Watkins. “The partnership adds scale to our existing operations and will allow us to better serve the broader Nashville community.”

“NHI has been a staple in the Nashville community for over 23 years and we are thrilled to welcome them to the team,” said Rob Lemoine of RIA. “The NHI team is a fantastic culture fit with RIA and our existing operations in the Nashville region.” Scott Swayze, CEO for LaunchPad, said: “John and Joan Watkins have built a fundamentally sound business and we are delighted to welcome the full NHI team as partners in the LaunchPad ecosystem.”

Residential Inspector of America (RIA)
RIA is the largest and most prominent home inspection provider in the Atlanta area, while PestNation provides a full breadth of pest control and extermination services. Founded in 1989, RIA has developed a culture built on a growth mindset focused on technical excellence and exceptional client service. Over the past several years, RIA has partnered with three inspection companies in Nashville (API and NHI), Charleston (SBS), and Jacksonville (HPI) to expand its services in these markets and broaden its geographic reach.

About LaunchPad Home Group
LaunchPad Home Group is a family of regional home inspection and services brands sharing relationships, support systems, best practices, and capital base for the mutual growth of our brands.  LaunchPad’s mission is to create lifelong relationships by simplifying home ownership at every stage of the journey, from inspections to remodeling to day-to-day safekeeping and maintenance. For more information, visit www.launchpadhomegroup.com.

Today, with the help of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, LaunchPad is the fastest growing residential inspection company in the US and provides a full suite of services to assist customers in their home ownership journey.

 

July 26, 2023
LaunchPad Home Group’s Residential Inspector of America Acquires Discovery Inspections

Move Expands Residential Inspector of America’s Atlanta Metropolitan Area Presence

AUSTIN, TX (May 17, 2023) – LaunchPad Home Group (“LaunchPad”), the nation’s premier provider of home inspection and residential services, announced today that its subsidiary Residential Inspector of America (“RIA”) has acquired Discovery Inspections (“Discovery”) of Fayetteville, GA.

Serving the Fayetteville and surrounding areas for the past 25 years, Discovery’s decades of experience and attention to customer care has led it to become the leader in its core markets for residential inspection services.

“Our recent partnership with LaunchPad and Residential Inspector of America is already showing tremendous benefits to our clients and referral sources alike,” said Discovery’s owner Gary Sloan. “We now cover a much larger area of Atlanta, have more available inspection time slots, and additional inspection services. Our common business cultures, deep inspection experience, and commitment to a positive customer experience have been key elements in this smooth transition.”

Scott Swayze, CEO for LaunchPad, said: “We are excited to partner with Gary and Kay Sloan and welcome the crew from Discovery to join our team. Discovery has built a customer centric culture and the team will fit well with RIA’s growth focused mentality.”

Residential Inspector of America (RIA) RIA is the largest and most prominent home inspection provider in the Atlanta area, while PestNation provides a full breadth of pest control and extermination services. Founded in 1989, RIA has developed a culture built on a growth mindset focused on technical excellence and exceptional client service. Over the past several years, RIA has partnered with three inspection companies in Nashville (API), Charleston (SBS), and Jacksonville (HPI) to expand its services in these markets and broaden its geographic reach.

About LaunchPad Home Group
LaunchPad Home Group is a family of regional home inspection and services brands sharing relationships, support systems, best practices, and capital base for the mutual growth of our brands.  LaunchPad’s mission is to create lifelong relationships by simplifying home ownership at every stage of the journey, from inspections to remodeling to day-to-day safekeeping and maintenance. For more information, visit www.launchpadhomegroup.com.

Today, with the help of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, LaunchPad is the fastest growing residential inspection company in the US and provides a full suite of services to assist customers in their home ownership journey.

 

May 17, 2023
Sales Empowerment Group Acquires Action Selling, an Award-Winning Sales Training Company

CHICAGO, IL and PLYMOUTH, MN (April 18, 2023) – Chicago-based Sales Empowerment Group (“SEG”), a highly-recognized outsourced sales and marketing consulting firm, announced today it has acquired Minnesota-based Action Selling, an award-winning sales training company.

Founded in 1990 by Duane Sparks, who authored the productivity-focused training program, Action Selling has trained, assessed and certified over 500,000 salespeople. Over the past decade, Action Selling has been consistently recognized as a Top 20 / 25 Sales Training Company by Training Industry, the most trusted source of information on the business of learning and SellingPower.com, the leading digital magazine for sales managers and sales VPs.

The combination of SEG and Action Selling provides clients a comprehensive suite of solutions across the entire revenue function: SEG, with core competencies in virtual sales teams, consulting services, sales playbooks, sales assessments and a proprietary technology platform, and Action Selling, with its tried and true, multi-program sales training platform.

“SEG has always been dedicated to the training space for junior talent, and now we have a world-class sales training program to expand training to all aspects of the sales lifecycle and our clients’ sales teams,” said Brian O’Neil, CEO of Sales Empowerment Group. “Action Selling’s methodology and training program is second to none and we are excited to join forces to help our clients drive even stronger results.”

“SEG is the perfect complement to Action Selling’s robust sales training program,” said Eric Moore, President of Action Selling. “The unified platform creates immediate opportunities to strengthen our clients’ sales teams and further position them to win new business.”

Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor to SEG, a portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners. Woodbridge International served as exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to Action Selling.

About Sales Empowerment Group:

SEG is a sales and marketing consulting firm providing services that drive revenue growth. The company uses a strategic, time-tested approach, and works with its clients to create a sales-focused culture that helps grow revenue faster. SEG serves a variety of middle-market and larger companies in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, technology, professional services, and other sectors. For more information, visit www.salesempowermentgroup.com.

About Action Selling:

Founded in 1990 by Duane Sparks, Action Selling has trained, assessed and certified over 500,000 salespeople in over 4,000 companies across every industry. The company offers research-driven sales and leadership training through its proprietary-owned and trademarked learning management technology system and face-to-face with its in-person workshops. For more information, visit www.actionselling.com.

About RFE Investment Partners:
RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the United States. RFE is a long-standing firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market-leading middle-market companies. RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX.

April 18, 2023
CongruityHR acquires JanusHR, a Florida-based PEO

WINSTON-SALEM, NC, and TAMPA, FL — CongruityHR (“Congruity)”, a North Carolina-based, leading outsourced HR solutions provider, announced today its acquisition of JanusHR, a Tampa-based provider of comprehensive, personalized HR services for small to medium-sized businesses across Florida.

JanusHR (“Janus”) was founded and led by Daneen Gurney, who previously had a 20+ year career with Oasis Outsourcing, where she started as one of the first sales representatives and quickly rose to District Manager, Regional Vice President, and then VP of Strategic Partnerships. Gurney managed eight (8) markets, opened over ten (10) offices, and helped manage several acquisitions for Oasis. Under Gurney’s leadership, JanusHR achieved significant market share in the Tampa Bay region.

“We are thrilled to join forces with Congruity, and take advantage of their existing brand, channel, and presence in the Southeast,” said Gurney.

“We are excited to welcome Daneen and the Janus team to the Congruity family. They bring a high level of industry expertise to our organization,” said Darrin Hunter, Congruity CEO. “The addition of JanusHR brings great value to Congruity’s portfolio and expands on our commitment to legacy brands, relationships and people.”

“Janus has seen tremendous organic growth over the years, and we are thrilled about adding them to our team,” said Matt Lewis, President of Congruity.

G2 Capital Advisors served as exclusive buy-side advisor to Congruity in the successful transaction. Congruity has been a portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners since 2021.

About CongruityHR
CongruityHR is a Human Resource outsourcing company providing HR, compliance, payroll, tax administration, employee benefits, and workers’ compensation and safety services to small and medium-sized businesses predominately in the southeastern U.S. via a professional employer organization (PEO) and administrative services organization (ASO) model. Visit www.congruityhr.com.

About JanusHR
A Tampa-based PEO, JanusHR provides comprehensive, personalized HR services for small to medium-sized businesses across Florida. For more information, visit www.wesolvehr.com.

About RFE Investment Partners
RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the U.S. RFE is a long-standing firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market-leading middle-market companies. RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX. For more information, visit www.rfeip.com.

About G2 Capital Advisors
G2 Capital Advisors provides M&A, capital markets, and restructuring advisory services to the middle market. G2 offers integrated, multi-product, and sector-focused services by pairing highly experienced C-level executives with specialist investment bankers. G2 aspires to be the trusted advisor of choice to our clients including corporations and institutional investors. For more information, visit https://g2capitaladvisors.com.

April 4, 2023
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