Case Study: OnShore Technology Group
Chicago-based tech-enabled consulting firm defied predictions to land on the Inc. 5000 list two years in a row.
>>THE PROBLEM
OnShore Technology Group was growing organically. They had not taken on any debt financing other than a bank loan for $100k, and that was 15 years ago. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, life sciences companies’ activities began to explode. Many of OnShore’s clients, including Moderna, were trying to bring new COVID therapies to market. In order for them to do that they needed validation, which is what OnShore does.
Companies were in a race against time to bring new COVID therapies to market, to get their systems validated, so that they could move their products forward. The pandemic caused a tremendous shift in OnShore’s business. The leadership team needed guidance and growth capital to keep up with the pace.
>>THE SOLUTION
OnShore’s CEO, Valarie King-Bailey, MBA, enrolled the company in Founders First CDC’s Bootcamp business accelerator program followed by FastPath. This led to OnShore securing a $500,000 revenue-based financing investment. Revenue-based financing was ideal as the payments were increased during stronger revenue months, helping the company pay down the debt faster as it was growing.
Since working with Founders First, the company has seen revenues grow upward of 90% in 12 months, landing OnShore on the Inc. 5,000 list three years in a row. Valarie was also named to Inc.’s list of Female Founders 100 – 2022’s Most Dynamic Women in Business.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Revenue-based financing is a good fit if your tech-enabled consulting business meets the following:
- Profitable, break-even or on the clear path to profitability
- Recurring or predictable revenues or repeatable customer contracts
- Seeking $50,000 to $2 million in growth capital
Valarie King-Bailey, MBA
CEO, OnShore Technology Group
May 2020 FastPath Graduate
“Sometimes if you’re like me, you’re running your business every single day, you don’t get a chance to stop and think and smell the roses as such, but Founders really made me think about OnShore strategically as a business. Where did I want to go? Where did I want to take the business? And that was what was so important to me.”
