Small town, big opportunity. 

Trey Miller, a leader in managed services in Greensboro, North Carolina, has nurtured his passion for computers since childhood. "I've always been fascinated with computers, but I learned as I got into my career that I love people more," said Miller. “Living in a smaller town in Greensboro, North Carolina, allowed me to get to know all the other IT service business owners."

A Shared Vision: Building a Unified Future

Miller owned an IT services company that provided similar services to Longleaf Systems, which also operates within the Greensboro area. However, instead of resisting competition, Miller recognized the value of collaboration. 

Miller values the essence of friendly competition. “We are a tight, close-knit community. I knew Harvey McClendon and his wife, Tamara, who operated Longleaf Systems, a business like mine. We recognized each other as business rivals, but we were also friends.”

Eventually, discussions began about merging their businesses.

The Role of IT Nation Grow and IT Valuations 

The catalyst for these discussions was McClendon’s relationship with IT Valuations. Miller recognized the importance of expertise in business transactions, emphasizing that clients hire experts to solve problems and identify risks they might not see themselves. "Partnering with McClendon and Longleaf Systems would strengthen our partnership and showcase the camaraderie within our community.”

IT Valuations is a partner and key contributor to IT Nation Grow, a premier event designed to provide MSPs with expert guidance on business transition and growth strategies. This intensive bootcamp offers attendees actionable insights from top industry leaders to improve operations and create lasting business value. 

Participants can connect with fellow MSPs, sharing experiences and exploring custom solutions tailored to their specific challenges. The event covers crucial topics such as private equity, security operations, succession planning, and organic versus acquisitive growth, providing a comprehensive understanding of investment opportunities, cybersecurity enhancements, streamlined processes, and long-term business continuity. 

Miller firmly believed in the necessity of hiring experts like IT Valuations for business transactions. “I would never go through a transaction like this without hiring an expert like IT Valuations,” Miller emphasized.

Confidence in the Merger

IT Valuations provided a clearly defined process for creating business valuations, which was crucial for Miller and McClendon. “They [IT Valuations] conducted separate valuations for each company, offering a starting point to understand the assets and value we each brought to the table,” Miller explained. 

IT Valuations has a clearly defined process for creating a business valuation. In our case, they did a separate valuation of each of our companies. “That gave us a great starting point for understanding what each of us had, what my partners had, what I had built, and then as part of their process to be able to then display a pro forma of what a combined entity would look like and give us a roadmap for how we could continue to build value.”

Ensuring Best Interests

The services provided by IT Valuations instilled confidence in Miller and McClendon as they approached the merger. Knowing what each party was bringing to the table and what they could expect in the future was invaluable. IT Valuations took the time to understand the owners and key players who might stay post-transaction, ensuring that the merger was in the best interest of all parties involved.

One of the standout qualities of IT Valuations was its commitment to its clients' best interests. It worked diligently to bring in great partners, whether buyers or other companies in a merger of equals. It ensured that clients made decisions that were beneficial for them, keeping the primary goals in focus and preventing less important issues from derailing a good deal.

Personal Process 

For Miller, the merger with Longleaf Systems was a significant step facilitated by IT Valuations' expertise and personal touch. “Selling a business is a deeply personal process. Choosing a partner to buy and carry forward the business into the future requires careful consideration.” They [IT Valuations] went beyond the numbers and finer deal points, focusing on the personal relationships that drive the process and ultimately determine the best results. 

“We talk to our clients all the time about the value of expertise,” Miller advised, “Anyone looking to sell their business should work with advisors and select those who connect on a personal level, beyond just having the expertise to execute the deal effectively.”

We want them to hire us because we're experts in our domain and to bring us in to solve problems that they couldn't solve themselves, maybe spot risks that they wouldn't see because they're not IT experts.

IT Valuations employed several key strategies to facilitate the merger:

• Detailed Business Valuations: They conducted separate valuations for each company, using methodologies like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and comparable company analysis to determine each business's value.
• Pro Forma Creation: IT Valuations created a pro forma for the combined entity, providing a roadmap for future value creation and operational efficiency.
• Personalized Advisory Services: They took the time to understand the owners and key players, ensuring that the merger aligned with the best interests of all parties involved.

Continuous Evaluation

Through their Valuations as a Service (VaaS) model, IT Valuations offered ongoing evaluations to keep businesses updated on their value in real time, enabling informed decision-making. These strategies helped Miller and McClendon navigate the complexities of their merger with confidence and clarity. "I really appreciate how IT Valuations has a clearly defined process for creating a business valuation. In our case, doing a separate valuation on each of our companies gave us a great starting point for understanding what each of us had built."