ETG: Healthcare MSP Evaluates Potential Investors, Suitors

ETG, the seasoned healthcare managed services provider, is working with Founders Investment Banking LLC Director of Technology Practice Zane Tarence to evaluate potential strategic relationships. Apparently, potential investors and suitors have been knocking on ETG's door because the MSP's annual revenues surged roughly 50 percent to $6.5 million in 2010 vs. 2009.

Back in mid-2010, CEO Mike Jones said ETG was "For Sale But On Sale " -- his way of stating ETG would consider strategic offers that involved health care-savvy suitors, rather than horizontal MSP bargain hunters. Fast forward to April 2011. Today, Jones says, "The quality and quantity of the offers has increased so much. So we went to Founders for help."

ETG, which serves SMB health care clinics, has 32 employees and roughly 100 customers. "The space (healthcare) is white hot right now," said Jones. "It's the fastest growing -- and maybe the only growing -- sector of the U.S. economy."

New client acquisition is a top challenge for most MSPs... but apparently not for ETG. The company even moved away from long-term contracts 18 months ago. The reason: ETG's customer acquisition and retention rates were so high that the company didn't need to lock clients into long-term contracts. Abandoning the approach reduced customer stress during the ETG sales process.. As Jones put it, "If you don't like us, fire us."

But the growth has come with some challenges. Up until roughly two weeks ago ETG didn't have a dedicated sales team. Jones signed each client himself. As business has picked up, Jones has had to relinquish some of that job to a single, recently hired salesperson. And lately ETG has received so many offers to form strategic partnerships with other companies that the normally hands-on Jones has had to bring in some help -- from Founders Investment Banking LLC -- to "evaluate strategic partnership alternatives."

We'll be sure to check in with Jones regularly to see if ETG accepts any funding, investments or capital as part of a strategic relationship.

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