SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 29, 2020) – Mainsail Partners today announced the sale of SentryOne, a technology provider of database performance monitoring and DataOps solutions on SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and the Microsoft Data Platform, to SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI), a provider of IT management software. SolarWinds announced the $142 million acquisition during its Q3 earnings call earlier this week. Since investing in the company in 2015, Mainsail has supported consistent growth at SentryOne through a combination of team building, product line expansion, a strategic acquisition and international growth.
SentryOne, formerly SQLSentry, was founded in 2004 by Greg Gonzalez and Ken Teeter, seeking to develop a solution to help Database Administrators (DBAs) more effectively manage and monitor performance of SQL Server environments. The company was bootstrapped until 2015 when Gonzalez and Teeter recognized they could benefit from a partner who could bring capital and operational support to help them scale the business and capture greater market share.
“We have found Mainsail to be an invaluable partner in helping us define and achieve our potential,” said founder and Chief Scientist Greg Gonzalez. “Their hands-on approach and expertise building software companies has helped us in our mission to improve the lives of data professionals and their customers.”
In 2016, SentryOne worked with Mainsail’s Operations Team to repackage and price its product suite, unifying the products under a new powerful SentryOne brand. In 2018, SentryOne opened its first international office in Dublin and moved its offices to a new headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. In April of 2018, SentryOne acquired Pragmatic Works Software, extending the company’s reach to the increasingly critical DataOps function.
By late 2020, the company had grown from a team of 41 at the time of Mainsail’s investment to 155 employees. In addition to building out the executive team, Mainsail helped recruit outside board members Lou Shipley and Drew Clark.
“The partnership with Greg, Ken and the rest of the management team at SentryOne has been incredibly rewarding” said Gavin Turner, Managing Partner at Mainsail Partners. “This is the sweet spot for Mainsail. We partnered with founders who had bootstrapped the development of a highly rated software product suite, but who needed help building the team and accelerating go-to-market efforts. Additionally, we shared an understanding of the importance of maintaining the culture and customer-centric ethos that made the company special before we were involved. We are proud of our partnership and wish the team well in the next phase.”
In just the last year, SentryOne has earned a number of accolades, including the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (2019 and 2020), Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Charlotte Business Journal Fast 50, among others.
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About Mainsail
Mainsail Partners is a San Francisco-based growth equity firm that invests exclusively in fast-growing, bootstrapped software companies. The firm has raised over $1.2 billion and invested in more than 50 growing companies since 2003. Mainsail prioritizes investments in B2B software companies with compelling business models in growing markets. The firm’s approach to driving value creation is anchored in a dedicated Operations Team that is purpose-built to help founders scale their businesses and accelerate growth. These women and men include former software company operators who leverage real-world experience, well-established best practices, and a true partnership ethos to support management teams. For more information, visit mainsailpartners.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.