Empowering Companies in Transition to Get to the Next Level

Case Study

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Eaglepoint helped Purple Innovation grow from less than $200M to over $725M in four years

Eaglepoint worked with partners to secure over $450M in debt and equity financing to allow Purple become a public company with a strong balance sheet. This funding coupled with the right strategic and operational advice, helped Purple achieve its rapid growth strategy.

Situation

Purple Innovation was a small mattress and pillow company with a strong intellectual property portfolio. The founders invented, patented and started production of innovative products that differed from anything else on the market.

Complication

Purple did not have the financial or managerial resources to achieve its growth objectives and was quickly running out of cash.

Resolution

In early 2017, Purple’s founders partnered with Eaglepoint partners, investment bankers and financial sponsors to fund its growth plan and to help recruit the right leaders to take the company to the Next Level. Purple Innovation became a public company in February 2018.

Results

Purple grew to over $700M in sales in four years to become one of the most successful start-ups in the history of the mattress industry. Sales revenue grew from $197M in 2017, to $286M in 2018, to $428M in 2019, to $649M in 2020 and $726M in 2021. The initial public offering stock price grew from $10/share to over $40/share by early 2021. 

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Revamping Alloy Digital for Next Level Success 

With poorly performing social engagement and limited product focus, Alloy Digital was a web 1.0 digital media publisher needing to transform to a 2.0 and beyond digital world.

Issue

Alloy Digital revenue was primarily limited to banner ads, with little user engagement. It used no mobile footprint and its social engagement through Facebook was declining. Alloy had poorly performing websites, with very limited focus on product improvements, resulting in no alternative revenue streams.

Solution

Pano Anthos was named Chief Product Officer and helped establish an agile, product-oriented culture that reflects the new web and mobile worlds.

He brought e-commerce in-house and hired team to drive growth through money making mobile games and successful mobile viewing applications. New revenue streams were created using video technology and a gamification layer. He implemented Big Data tools to identify key user behaviors and initiate beta testing.

Results

New revenues grew by over $1M in less than 9 months and total e-commerce revenues increased by over 50% vs. year ago. Social media traffic increased by over 20% on Smosh.com and unique visitors grew to over 66 million on Smosh.com. New platforms were created to broaden revenue streams to mobile and gaming arenas. Finally, a new team was developed to carry forward with Alloy’s merger with Break Media.

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Eaglepoint Advisors provided creative advice and strategies to fuel new market entry for long-time solution provider

Skype is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft.

Issue

Skype was operating on the fringes of the highly regulated telephony industry, facing high growth and a challenging revenue model. With senior management turnover, complicated investor relations, and high market expectations, the challenging IPO environment demanded strategic preparation for a successful IPO or sale.

Solution

To address these complex challenges, we provided creative advice to support revenue opportunities, developed innovative strategies for new market entry, and crafted a robust IP Strategy and Management plan. Our meticulous preparation positioned the company for a strategic transaction, ensuring readiness for the next growth phase.

Result

Implementing an effective IP Strategy not only led to a successful sale to Microsoft but also enabled us to operate outside the most onerous telephone regulations, providing a competitive advantage. By avoiding major IP infringements and navigating the intricate investor landscape, Microsoft acquired the company for an impressive $8.5 billion, marking a significant milestone in their journey.

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Eaglepoint provided interim CEO services to quickly address the identified issues for one one of the leading curriculum development providers to the educational publishing industry.

Falling revenue and lack of market focus contributed to a company in disarray.

Issues

The company was focusing on too many market sectors without adequate software or services investment. Many client projects were unprofitable and revenue was falling on a month to month basis. The people culture of the company was in disarray, with key employees leaving at an alarming rate.

Solution

We helped replace the CEO and shifted the business strategy to focus on core sectors, shedding a number of marginal and unprofitable areas. We helped implement the Net Promoter Score (NPS) concept as a primary indicator of business success and helped create much more information transparency. We also helped the company develop key capabilities that were differentiators in the educational publishing market. Sales efforts behind this more focused strategy improved customer messaging and was easier to support.

Result

Eaglepoint provided interim CEO services to quickly address the identified issues. Customer satisfaction markedly improved and project profitability increased by 5X. Significant new client opportunities were developed from the new messaging and tighter positioning. Staff exits were dramatically reduced and people culture improved significantly. Finally, a new permanent CEO was hired to a much more stable and successful company.