Introduction
Aviso Retention is a student retention software solution for higher education. It uses AI and predictive analytics to help colleges and universities increase the engagement, retention, and degree or certificate completion of underserved students.
Alex Leader founded Aviso in 2012. Within less than a decade, he and his team had bootstrapped it into a strong edtech company known for helping institutions keep their students on track to reach their goals. By 2021, Leader was convinced it was time to find a new home for Aviso and its mission.
“Our partner institutions were seeing great results,” he said. “And we wanted to deliver those on a scale much larger than our knowledge and resources could enable. Plus, I’ve always felt a responsibility to help our employees achieve their career goals.”
DIY or Get Help?
The decision to find a buyer for Aviso led to a pivotal question: Should they do it themselves or find a partner to accelerate their mission? Leaderʼs direct experience with M&A was minimal. It was unlikely that he and his board would be able to give sufficient attention to the effort while also running the company.
They recognized the lack of experience and time would significantly increase the chance of an unfair deal structure, which would increase the chance of a deal that didn’t meet the long-term mission of Aviso. Most important was finding the right buyer.
Leader was determined to put Aviso, its customers and its employees in the hands of a company that not only believed in their mission, but also shared their cultural values. “Ultimately, the goal was fit,” he said. Leader reached out to a mentor who sold his own software company successfully. After the advisor shed more light on what to expect, Leader decided to find an intermediary with the industry expertise to facilitate a successful sale of Aviso Retention.
Accelerating the Right Fit
While vetting potential partners, Leader met with BMI Mergers & Acquisitions. “I was impressed with their drive and directness,” Leader said. “After meeting the managing partners of BMI, it was clear they had a great support network.” Leader soon engaged BMI Mergers & Acquisitions.
Matt Tortora and the BMI team began digging into Avisoʼs business and goals. “We wanted to fully understand them on a very deep level,” Tortora said. “The value they provide, their place in the broader market, and what types of acquirers fit them best.”
Matt soon had a hypothesis informed by his software industry experience and confirmed by further research. “There was a lot of consolidation of student retention and student engagement solutions,” he said. “Ed tech software companies focused on the higher ed. space who were looking to build out a full end-to-end solution for that market represented the best fit for Aviso.”
Matt and the BMI team put together materials that articulated the details of Avisoʼs value he knew would matter most to those acquirers. Then, it was time to reach out to his extensive network in the market. “Existing relationships with many of these companies allowed us to prioritize the buyers that best fit the profile we were looking for,” Tortora said.
The Perfect Match
Within a matter of months, private equity firm TCV and their portfolio company Watermark Insights made an offer to acquire Aviso. Matt and the BMI team negotiated a deal that Alex and other key shareholders felt was
very favorable. What’s more, Leader knew theyʼd found a perfect match.
It was clear their mission, values, and people were aligned with ours from the first time we met,” he said. “We officially became part of Watermark at the end of 2021. Like me, our customers and team are very excited. The future is bright!”
“Find a trusted partner that represents you and your company,” he added. “The work BMI Mergers & Acquisitions put in made our process successful and very smooth.”