PHOENIX, Oct. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Answer 1, LLC, a leading virtual receptionist company serving small and medium sized businesses across the United States, announced today that it has received a significant growth capital investment from Sunstone Partners, a growth equity firm that invests in technology-enabled services and software companies.
Answer 1 supports thousands of clients across a wide spectrum of end markets, providing a comprehensive solution set of receptionist and call center services that increases clients’ lead capture rates, reduces costs, and improves brand image. Answer 1 has nearly tripled in scale since 2015, and this financing marks the first institutional equity capital ever raised by the company.
Parker Davis, Answer 1’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said that this investment marks a critical inflection point for the business. “Over the past year, it has become clear to our management team that the market opportunity available to Answer 1 is vast and, with the right equity partner, we’re in a prime position to capitalize on it. There are approximately 30 million small and medium sized businesses across the United States looking for ways to outsource noncore functions and improve customer experiences.”
He added, “We spent approximately six months looking for the right partner, and it was clear to us after meeting Sunstone that we had a common value system and shared perspective on how to build a great business. That is, by investing in our people and technology our company will optimize client outcomes. I am confident that Sunstone is best suited to help Answer 1 continue and accelerate growth. We are eager to begin our work together.”
Gustavo Alberelli, Managing Director of Sunstone Partners, said, “We are excited to build upon the great foundation that Parker and his team have created at Answer 1. Small and medium sized businesses have a demonstrable need to focus on core competencies, streamline administrative functions, and improve customer engagement despite continuing growth in communication channels. Answer 1’s comprehensive solution set helps solve those pain points. We believe Answer 1 is a leader in the virtual receptionist space, and we look forward to helping the company build upon its current service offering and expand its footprint.”
The new board of directors will include Gustavo Alberelli and Arneek Multani, Managing Directors at Sunstone Partners, Parker Davis, and Jeff Rich, an Operating Partner at Sunstone Partners. Previously, Jeff Rich served as CEO of Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) where under his direction ACS completed an IPO, grew annual revenues from $300 million to over $5.3 billion, and executed on 84 acquisitions and 12 divestitures.
About Answer 1
For over 30 years, Answer 1 has provided answering and virtual receptionist services to thousands of small businesses across the U.S. Excellent service and a client first mentality have allowed the business to continually grow its service offering and focus on technological advancements to better serve clients across a wide range of industry verticals. Answer 1 is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, with additional operations in Lake Havasu City, AZ and Richmond, VA. For more information visit www.answer1.com
About Sunstone Partners
Sunstone Partners is a growth equity firm focused on minority and majority investments in technology-enabled services and software businesses. The firm seeks to partner with exceptional management teams, often as their first institutional capital partner, to help accelerate growth, fund acquisitions, and provide shareholder liquidity. Principals at Sunstone Partners have now led new platform investments in more than 50 technology businesses over the past 20 years. The firm is currently investing out of Sunstone Partners I, a $310 million fund. For more information visit www.sunstonepartners.com