The investment — of an unspecified amount — is the very first for Essex Bay Capital. Munetrix, based in Michigan, helps its clients publish data dashboards and do other work with data such as reporting compliance and report generation.
The deal appears to position Munetrix for an eventual exit — typically, that would be a sale to a larger company. Private equity firms often look to increase the value of the companies they invest in and then sell their stake.
Additionally, veteran gov tech entrepreneur Steve Ressler will be joining Munetrix’s board as part of the deal. Ressler, himself an investor, has held leadership roles at three companies that would eventually be acquired: GovLoop, GovDelivery and Callyo.
In a press release, Munetrix wrote that the new funding from Essex Bay will be put toward product development, customer support and sales.
“I could not be more proud of the Munetrix team for living our mission and delighting our customers every single day by helping hundreds of K-12 school districts and municipalities on financial planning, budgeting, transparency and academic outcomes,” said Buzz Brown, the company’s co-founder and CEO, in the statement. “We are excited to work with our new partners at Essex Bay who understand and appreciate our core values, and who will support our vision for product innovation and growth, both organically and through acquisitions.”
Aside from gov tech, Essex Bay will seek to invest in industrial and medical technologies, food products and software. It plans on investing in companies with between $1-8 million in earnings or cash flow as well as $5-60 million total enterprise value.
