We buy vertical SaaS that customers rely on, modernize it, and keep it the product they chose.
Most buyers bring a spreadsheet and a plan to find someone to run your company. We run it ourselves, and we modernize the companies we own without breaking what customers love. Your company joins a small group of software businesses. It keeps its name and its customers, and gets the resources of a larger operator behind it.
Your customers chose you because the product works and the support shows up, and that's the asset. We keep serving them the way they're used to, and we tell them so in your words and ours.
A stack that's hard to change is the kind of company we look for. We modernize it carefully, so the product gets faster and more reliable without customers relearning anything.
We bring the management team with us, so you don’t have to stay for years to keep the company running. Our team works alongside the people who know the product.
Nothing changes for your customers on day one. Changes come in the order that protects them.
Same product, same support. We introduce ourselves to customers together, and the message is continuity.
We sit with your team, document how things really work, and make sure the people who hold critical knowledge are supported and heard. We change nothing we don’t understand yet.
The stack is modernized, releases speed up, and the features customers have asked about for years finally ship. Support gets better.
A well-run, modern product wins renewals and new customers. Growth comes from doing more for the customers you have and reaching more like them.
Confidential, and no obligation on either side.
We go through the real profit of the business with you.
A written offer with a straightforward structure and no surprises later.
A defined path from letter of intent to close, and we keep to it.
Not on day one. Over the first year they’ll see a faster product, more frequent releases, and often a modernized interface. We follow a playbook built not to upset users: changes roll out gradually, and users can keep the familiar interface while they get used to the new one.
Only for a transition. We run the company ourselves, so we need you long enough to hand over relationships and knowledge. After that you’re free to do your next thing.
We work with small, senior teams, so we keep some of your people and not all of them. The ones we keep hold critical product and customer knowledge. Every change is handled with notice, fairness, and respect.
Vertical B2B and B2G SaaS that is the system of record for its customers, typically $2–5M in EBITDA, in any vertical where switching is painful. Older technology is fine. Loyal customers are the point.
Simply. A fair price based on the real profit of the business, communicated clearly and early, with a straightforward structure and a defined timeline from letter of intent to close. No retrades late in the process, no surprises in the documents. We know what it’s like to get an offer that looks big on paper and pays little at close, and we don’t make those.
Most companies this size are too small for PE, and the funds that do buy at this size need you to keep running the product for years. Strategics tend to fold your product into theirs. We run it ourselves, and the product keeps its name and its customers.
Owner, operator, and builder of software businesses, with two decades of turning SaaS products into lean, profitable companies.
Phil Alves founded and runs DevSquad, a 90+ person software development firm that has built and modernized SaaS products for Fortune 500 companies and leading vertical SaaS companies. He also owns DevStats, an engineering-metrics SaaS product that runs on the same model as every Shaping Lift company. He leads every acquisition and transition personally.
Phil is also a pilot, and he runs his businesses the way he flies: checklists, discipline, and no surprises.
A confidential conversation, no obligation, and a straight answer on whether we're the right buyer.
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