Our Focus
We’re uniquely focused on early stage and bootstrapped technology start-ups in the broader Northwest.
Few other qualified advisors (licensed broker dealers) service this stage of the market.
We help our clients gain access to capital sources and strategic buyers across the country and internationally, and to proactively plan and prepare for these events.
Sectors of interest include Social/Mobile, Cloud/Infrastructure, Data/AI, Energy/Sustainability.
Our Story
The genesis of Evolution came from the intersection of a passion for entrepreneurship and the recognition of a key void in the market.
A void in the market
Two of the most pivotal milestones in the life of a technology company are when it raises its initial outside capital and when it is acquired. Start-up companies (angel/seed/bootstrapped) are typically capital constrained, lean on human resources, short on time, and many often have little if any personal experience with raising capital or successfully selling a business.
Paradoxically, later stage companies with larger teams and more resources routinely utilize advisory/investment banking firms when raising capital or pursuing exits in order to gain transaction and process expertise and access to investors/buyers. Yet these larger advisory firms that service later stage companies can’t make their business models work for earlier stage companies, as the transactions are simply not large enough on balance to justify the effort. We know, as we’ve been there.
In the absence of traditional advisors, many young startups turn to the “one-man-bands” and consultants that usually are not licensed broker dealers, which causes all sorts of other concerns for all involved. So the resource-constrained start-ups that need this help the most, often have few places to turn for substantive assistance with these pivotal transactions. Therein lies Evolution’s opportunity.
A passion to help entrepreneurs succeed and fulfill their dreams
The principals of Evolution have been involved with entrepreneurial companies for the last 20 years in a variety of capacities – start-up founders, business owners, angel investors, venture capitalists, strategy consultants, and investment bankers. We have a passion for the early stage part of the market and for helping entrepreneurs pursue their dreams. Recognizing a void, we set out to intentionally structure an advisory practice to service start-ups in the right way. We created a tailored business model such that all aspects of our firm – from our structure, our regulatory status (licensed broker dealer), the complexion of our team, the way we deliver services, our counter-party relationships, and the way we structure compensation – are all tuned to service the start-up community. And it has worked well.
We understand how to get deals done at the start-up stage
We’ve been successfully getting deals done for start-ups for well over a decade. We understand this space and the unique nuances of working here. We understand the perspectives of all the stakeholders involved in a transaction at this stage and are familiar with all the deal related issues prevalent at this stage (structures, terms, valuations, trends). And we understand the etiquette of doing deals at this stage. We don’t get in the way of entrepreneurs building relationships with investors/buyers, we help them more effectively and efficiently navigate the waters.
Start-ups generally believe in the concept of using outsider specialist resources for important functions where they don’t have that specific inside expertise (legal, accounting, specialized software development expertise, etc). We submit that for some of the most “life altering” moments in a company’s history (capital and exit), it also makes sense to consider a specialist resource to improve the prospects for an optimal outcome. The stakes are high.
“Overtone hired Evolution to run a dual track process to explore both a capital raise and the sale of the company. We ultimately decided to sell. Evolution guided us every step of the way through the process, opened doors for us, helped us best position the company, helped to negotiate the deal and get the best possible valuation for the company. I strongly recommend Evolution and will definitively hire them again."