Update as of August 11, 2021: The previously announced plan for ServiceTitan to acquire Aspire Software has officially closed.
As part of the transaction, Mainsail will roll a portion of equity into ServiceTitan
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – June 30, 2021 – Today, Aspire Software, a St. Louis, Missouri-based software provider for commercial landscaping businesses, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by ServiceTitan, a leading provider of software for home and commercial services businesses.
In 2019, Aspire partnered with Mainsail Partners, a growth equity firm focused on investments in fast-growing bootstrapped software companies. As part of the transaction, Mainsail will roll a portion of the firm’s equity into ServiceTitan.
“We are thrilled to announce this next step in the journey for our team and the company,” said Mark Tipton, CEO and Co-founder of Aspire. “We found Mainsail to be the ideal partner to help our business make the leap from bootstrapping, to a company that is built to scale. We believe partnering with Mainsail accelerated the process of building the team, the infrastructure and the products which enabled us to deliver greater value to the market at a level we couldn’t have imagined a couple of years ago.”
Founded in 2013 by Mark Tipton and Kevin Kehoe, Aspire delivers software solutions to help landscaping contractors grow their businesses. The company powers hundreds of commercial landscapers that collectively count more than 50,000 users on the Aspire platform and perform roughly $4B in annualized transactions across landscaping, snow and ice, and construction.
“This has been one of the most fun and rewarding partnerships in our history,” said Jason Payne, co-founder of Mainsail Partners and Aspire board member. “Mark and Kevin built a robust software solution in a compelling market segment, and Mainsail was able to support them in implementing many of the best practices we’ve seen help companies like Aspire.”
Jason Frankel, Principal at Mainsail Partners and Aspire board member added, “The collaborative partnership with Mark and the management team allowed us to accomplish a lot in a short period of time. We are excited for the team to take this next step and to be part of the ServiceTitan family. Ara, Vahe, and Connor have built a powerful software solution for the trades, and we believe Aspire will be well positioned to continue to improve lives in the green industry with this planned acquisition.”
In just over two years, the management team and Mainsail delivered on a number of company building initiatives, including: hiring a CTO and Head of Product, as well as Heads of Sales, Marketing, and Talent; recruiting outside board directors Cameron Darby and Tom Bogan; acquiring CrewControl, a scheduling software solution for lawn care and landscaping companies; rolling out a new pricing model; optimizing the go-to-market motion, including standing up a sales development (SDR) team; implementing payments for CrewControl; and launching new products. During this time, the company grew from around 40 employees in March 2019 to approximately 100 employees today.
About Aspire Software
Aspire Software offers business management software for landscape, snow & ice, and construction companies. Aspire’s cloud-based SaaS platform helps landscapers manage, create, and execute against their business opportunities and challenges. Aspire helps landscapers change the way they manage their business to enable them to provide better service, improve margins, and increase productivity. Aspire is based in Chesterfield, MO. For more information, please visit http://www.youraspire.com.
About Mainsail Partners
Mainsail Partners is a growth equity firm with offices in San Francisco and Austin that invests exclusively in fast-growing, bootstrapped software companies. The firm has raised over $1.3 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.