Quick Facts
- Company: Vyopta
- Founded: 2007
- Headquarters: Austin, TX
- Investment: 2020
- Structure: Term Debt
- Use Cases: Expansion
- Exit: Acquired by HP in 2024
About Vyopta
Vyopta was founded in 2007 and transforms how organizations deliver exceptional collaboration experiences by providing contextual intelligence, unified visibility, and actionable alerts for business collaboration applications, devices, and infrastructure.
The Challenge and Objective:
A partner who could provide a non-dilutive growth capital solution, not a traditional venture lender that required dilutive equity “support” first
In the midst of COVID shutdowns in March 2020, Vistara signed a financing term sheet with Vyopta. There was a lot of uncertainty in the world, but we had conviction in the business and the disciplined management team led by CEO Alfredo Ramirez and his co-founders Andrew Chen and Rick Leung, as well as Brett Panter, Ruston Vickers, and Jonathan Sass (is there a better name for a software exec?). We closed in May and stuck by our original terms, following through when many other investors and lenders pulled their term sheets or renegotiated.
We won the deal as Vyopta’s bank couldn’t stretch quite far enough to meet the company’s growth needs, and many new banks and venture debt funds demanded significant new or “fresh” equity from the investors to bid. Vistara’s “growth debt” approach underwrites against business fundamentals vs. traditional “venture debt” that relies on “equity support” as a condition. We did not require new equity and provided Vyopta a long duration non-amortizing term loan, providing the runway to pursue growth rather than just contribute a smaller loan amount to complement a larger equity round.
Also, instead of removing the existing bank loan, we collaborated with the bank to create a better overall financing package for the company.
A year later, Vyopta desired to invest more than initially budgeted into its product and go-to-market. Vistara again extended more capital without the need of investors to contribute first, as we continued to believe in the team, market, and strategy.
Why Vistara?
A Reliable Growth Partner, Not a Formulaic Lender
Vistara has delivered on its promise of flexible growth capital, support and partnership. We began discussions pre-COVID and closed mid-2020 with Vistara following through on original deal terms despite peak uncertainty in the world and markets. They later followed on with additional growth capital, showing conviction and trust in our team and strategy. Vistara has always been true to their word, a big advocate for our company, and a great partner overall.” said CEO and co-founder Alfredo Ramirez.
The Outcome
Vyopta acquired by HP without incurring dilution over its final four years
It wasn’t always a bottom left to top right trajectory. As Vyopta’s enterprise, government, and education customers shifted from conference rooms with complex video collaboration hardware to their living rooms on a range of devices, and the big shift from some of the legacy providers to Zoom and Teams, Vyopta had to remain nimble and keep up with the rapid change. The team dug deep and ultimately came out a stronger organization with best-in-class technology and support for the complex multi-vendor collaboration stacks that we are all now accustomed to.
In June 2024, Vyopta was acquired by HP, which saw Vyopta as a strategic fit to strengthen its Workforce Experience platform. The acquisition allows HP to expand its offerings for businesses seeking to improve collaboration and hybrid work environments.
For the investors at Elsewhere Partners and the Vyopta team, especially the co-founders, Vistara’s capital helped the company hit multiple milestones without dilution over a four-year period. When Vyopta began exploring strategic alternatives, it had a simple cap table without a significant preference stack and had achieved the profitable growth profile demanded by buyers in the current market. We congratulate HP on a savvy purchase and extend our appreciation to the entire Vyopta team and investors for this successful exit.
Learn more about Vistara.
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