Family-run firm, DropJaw Ventures, may be small but it is certainly mighty. We talk to the founder about its valued-added portfolio and how dreaming big has paid off.
Founded in 2007 by Roy Shelton, DropJaw Ventures Group is an multi-award winning company based in Chester, which provides access to capital, interim management, and advisory services to scale up businesses and to companies in distress or in need of turnaround.
Roy, an MBA graduate, and award-winning senior executive, has more than two decades worth of experience along with a wealth of longstanding senior relationships on a national and international basis within IT, fixed line and mobile telecommunication providers, law enforcement, financial services, government departments and the venture capital/private equity and analyst communities.
Roy’s track record of consistent over-achievement is just one of the things that has helped the company to become so successful, however, he tells us a little more about what distinguishes DropJaw Ventures from its competitors.
“We enjoy the ability to act quickly deploying our own funds as the lead investor or insolation and/ or alongside other SME focused tech investors,” he begins. “We focus on the SME tech sector and take a hands-on role with all of our portfolio companies, and also create a market place for them to trade along with an immersive learning and support framework.”
All of DropJaw Ventures’ clients are SMEs with revenues between £100,000 to £11m, head counts of 2-60 people and they are predominantly in the technology or professional services space. Approximately 90% of the firm’s work comes through existing portfolios and advisor referrals, with the remainder being inbound leads from social media or its website.
The team itself is small, focused and committed. Being a family-run company, all staff members work well together and feed off each other in terms of transactions, thus adding value to its portfolio. Remaining small like this was a strategic decision due to the nature of the industry and time being a challenge.
“Being small has its benefits,” states Roy. “We have learnt to manage and be proud of how we create increased shareholder value and our small but progressive tech and professional services portfolio continues to perform.”
With regards to the future, Roy and the team at DropJaw Ventures know exactly where to aim their focus to ensure continued success.
“For the next 12 months we will focus on increasing our performance and returns. We expect that to slow slightly but we will focus on driving and fuelling acquisitive growth.
“Additionally, we will also continue to make a difference because we have been founders, investors, non-execs, turnaround and exit entrepreneurs. We have the grey hairs, the war stories and the battle scars. Ultimately, we have enjoyed both success and failure. It is all of these experiences we bring to our portfolio and allow them to learn and scale quickly.”
