Staying the Course: CEO Chris Geier and CFO Ryan Spohn talk perseverance, optimism and the role of a “north star” in life and in work.

In May, Sikich secured a $250 million investment from Bain Capital to accelerate the company’s growth strategy. Unlike many competitors who have accepted private equity capital while simultaneously giving up control of their companies, Sikich negotiated a minority investment deal. Along the way, there were hurdles. Some even said this was a deal that couldn’t be done. But, as in work as it is in life, perseverance pays.

Ryan: I want to set the tone for this conversation, Chris. We know each other well. We’ve worked together for years, and we just spent months planning, sweating and negotiating this growth capital deal. I can confidently say that you are, in a word, competitive.  

Chris: Ha! No one has ever said that to me before and, quite frankly, I’m shocked to hear it.

Ryan: You’re funny, too! But, in all seriousness, we had to maintain an attitude of “Why not?” during the process. I think it was contagious and advantageous, that kind of competitive spirit. And, in some ways, this did feel like a marathon. How did we do? Did we win?

Chris: That’s a good question. But I might phrase it differently. “Did we do what we set out to do?” The answer to that is, without a doubt, yes.

When we started talking about our need for growth capital, the conversation centered around how to accelerate our growth strategy while doing what’s best for our company and for the people who work with us. We weren’t looking to fix anything, and we weren’t looking for a pool of capital to pay off partners. We just wanted to execute on our strategy – which we had, and have, enormous faith in – and find a way to do that on a grander scale.

Ryan: That was always the question on our minds – “What’s the best thing for Sikich?” Once we all agreed what that was, there was no alternative we were willing to accept. We knew we’d need to negotiate on terms, but we were never going to negotiate on what was best for our people. You fixed our north star in the sky, and we followed it.

Chris: You and I are both goal setters. And we work in a community of go-getters. Sikich employees are incredibly curious and willing to push the envelope in order to innovate. Having a set objective, a north star, is critical if you want to meet your goals. You’ll remember, Ryan, that we had a big goal, in that we made a promise to our leadership. We wouldn’t bring a deal to the company that we didn’t believe in 100%. I take my fiduciary duty very seriously.

Equally, we were conscious of our organizational culture. Whatever we decided to do had to be congruous with our culture. It’s what sets us apart in the marketplace, so I personally spent a lot of nights thinking about how we move upstream meaningfully as a business without sacrificing the very foundation, our people and culture, that we’re known for.

Ryan: That’s a nice segue, Chris. Let’s talk a bit about the move upstream. I know that was driving both of us, the need to grow and evolve, so we didn’t find ourselves stagnating with an outdated business model. Were you optimistic about our prospects from the very beginning?

Chris: I really was. I just couldn’t come up with a reason why we couldn’t get it done.  As I told you many times, we have the team to make it happen. At our leadership conference in May, you told everyone, “Why not us?!” I loved that. It echoed my own optimism about the future.

About moving upstream, around three years ago, I began to recognize a critical challenge facing our industry. You’ve heard me talk about “no man’s land.” No man’s land is where companies in our industry can find themselves if they aren’t careful. Essentially, caught in the middle where they’ve not decided to remain smaller and more niche, nor decided to invest and grow larger in order to compete for the best and brightest talent. No man’s land.

Professional services is at an interesting juncture, with companies either remaining small and specialized or growing to serve upper middle market and enterprise clients. The risk of being caught in that middle ground, unable to attract top talent or compete for the clients we want, was very real, is very real. 

Ryan: That realization led us through a thorough exploration of our business and some intense introspection. We spent weeks analyzing our model, potential models and exploring the various possibilities. We talked to all kinds of investors, and we had some very good options.

Chris: We did have very good choices. Which is a testament to our track record, strategy and team. We were able to arrive at an option that enabled us to maintain control over the company’s destiny while tapping into a deep pool of resources to help us move upstream.

Ryan: You’re talking about Bain Capital. Their willingness to co-structure a minority growth investment that would provide us with incredible resources without surrendering our autonomy. You spent 30 years doing these kinds of transactions. Were you surprised at where we ended up?

Chris: Surprised? No. I will admit to feeling relief. And then I felt such incredible pride. This is a company that so many people have poured their blood and sweat into. This deal was for them, for everyone at the company now, and for everyone who comes after. And 100% of our partners voted in the affirmative on this deal. That was a big moment.

And, now, with this growth capital, we can scale the business in a significant way in a shorter time frame, which I understand can be scary for some people. But I think once people understood that the old models are dying and we had to take destiny by the hand, it was clear that we had to make a strategic move.

Ryan: I agree. One of our key differentiators has been our willingness to evolve our model. There has been a lot of consolidation in our space and the traditional partnership structure is becoming less relevant in our industry, and we had to recognize that and act accordingly. 

Chris: And now we find ourselves with a significant advantage, being able to attract and retain some of the best talent in the industry. We have structured the company advantageously to be a place where committed, smart, curious people can embrace the team and the mission, and thrive and be recognized, more meaningfully, for their contributions.

Ryan: As we look ahead, the landscape of professional services is set to change dramatically. The future of the industry and the players in it will look very different in a few years.

Chris: We’re going to see more big companies emerge. I believe the top 100 professional services organizations five years from now will look very different than they do today. Companies will have to stay nimble in order to pivot, evolve and compete effectively. Thankfully, we’ve moved beyond that risk and now we have to double down and make sure we take every advantage of the position we’re now in, to the benefit of our clients and our people.

I’ve never been more excited about our potential to create something truly exceptional in this industry. We’re not just preparing for the future, we’re actively shaping it.