Southeast Idaho natives Jacob Andersen of Arbon and Mark Stanger of American Falls describe themselves as just two ordinary people from small towns who saw a big opportunity and went for it.
The two men founded Crossfuze, a business software company, in 2012 and this fall sold a majority stake in the company to RLJ Equity Partners. While the amount of the deal was not disclosed, RLJ primarily invests in North American companies with enterprise values between $50 and $250 million with a target investment size between $15 and $40 million per transaction.
At the time of the sale, Crossfuze had offices in Buffalo, New York, with additional locations around the country in Salt Lake City, Boston, Dallas, New York, Orlando, San Diego and Tampa and around the world in Dublin, Manila, London, Ottawa, Sydney and Toronto. The company has more than 500 employees in the United States, Canada, Philippines, UK and Europe.
Andersen and Stanger, now 38 years old, were best friends at American Falls High School and later ended up attending Brigham Young University at the same time. Andersen was studying computer science while Stanger studied information systems. Both men were working for a technology company called ServiceNow that delivered software service to large companies.
“We saw a unique window of opportunity when ServiceNow decided to go public,” said Andersen. “We decided to be a partner to ServiceNow by creating and delivering software that will improve business workflows.”
They chose the name Crossfuze as a term standing for systems and companies working together.
While the business was initially focused on Southeast Idaho and Utah customers, the business quickly spread across the country.
Andersen and Stanger were able to hire on more employees to support the growth.
Everyone worked from home. A workday was spent on team calls, researching, planning corporate strategies, studying and anticipating what the market was going to do. Staff meetings were held online via video chat.
“We realized quickly that this had turned into something significant. We grew like crazy,” Stanger said. “We created a good product and provided good customer service. It changed both of our lives.”
Andersen, who grew up on an alfalfa farm, said he knew they’d “made it” when they had their first meeting with an investment banker.
“I knew then that we were as legit as anyone,” he said. “I felt blessed, lucky and fortunate.”
The acquisition of Crossfuze with RLJ Equity puts the company in a position to double in size in the next 5 to 10 years.
“Our investors are willing to put a lot of investment toward growth, which should allow us to get an even bigger footprint in the market,” Anderson said.
Andersen has opted to stay on with the company as the chief technology officer while still living in Arbon.
“Arbon is my home. Technology allows me to work from home but I will travel around the country and internationally about four times a year,” he said.
Stanger, who now resides in Utah, left the company to become an investor in other interests.
Andersen and Stanger encourage others who dream of starting a successful business to “learn a skill, pick a job that will help you learn, don’t be afraid to take a risk and to jump when the time is right.”