Q: What are NMP’s key areas of focus?
Q: Does NMP invest in areas outside the Southeastern U.S.?
Q: At what stage of a company’s development does NMP generally invest?
Q: How much capital does the firm generally invest in any one deal?
Q: Does NMP lead deals? Does the firm ever partner with other VCs to invest?
Q: What are the key attributes of what NMP would describe as a “good deal?”
Q: How does NMP get involved with a business?
Q: When should I approach NMP?
Q: If NMP is interested in talking further about my business, what should I expect?
Q: How do I submit a business plan for NMP’s consideration?
Q: What are NMP’s key areas of focus?
A: NMP has three primary areas of focus: Technology, Healthcare and Financial/Tech-Enabled Services.
NMP will invest in a range of technology opportunities with specific focus in the following areas:
- Internet security applications
- Payment processing and authentication applications
- Digital content and enabling platforms
- Software as a Service
The firm also invests in a variety of healthcare platforms including:
- Consumer-directed delivery models
- Revenue cycle management solutions
- Disease management solutions
- Remote monitoring and diagnosis
- Medical devices
NMP does not invest in pure drug development opportunities.
In the area of Financial/Tech-Enabled Services, companies that utilize some aspect of technology or software to enable the provision of valuable and differentiated business services. These areas include:
- Back office processing services
- Software application service providers
- Outsourced financial services companies
- Third-party network security providers
Q: Does NMP invest in areas outside the Southeastern U.S.?
A: Yes, but on a limited basis. Our primary geographic focus is the Southeastern United States with particular emphasis on companies headquartered in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas. While we consider investments outside of the Southeast region, our decision to invest is largely dependent on the presence of an established firm in close proximity to the prospective investment seeking to co-invest with NMP.
Q: At what stage of a company’s development does NMP generally invest?
A: NMP makes investments in both early and early growth stages.
An early stage business would be characterized as one that has a strong entrepreneur as its founder, built a product or services offering, but most likely has not started generating sizeable revenue from the core business described in its long term plan.
An early growth business would be characterized as one that has a strong management team, has gained revenue traction in its core business and is exhibiting strong year-over-year revenue growth.
Q: How much capital does the firm generally invest in any one deal?
A: This depends on the stage of the investment and the capital needs of the business being funded. Most initial investments range from $3-5 million, and NMP is prepared to invest as much as $10 million in equity capital over the life of the business.
Q: Does NMP lead deals? Does the firm ever partner with other VCs to invest?
A: NMP leads 80% of its investments and co-leads most of the balance. This allows the firm to add considerable value to its portfolio companies at a much more strategic level. NMP routinely co-invests with other firms, and over its 25-year history, NMP has successfully partnered with dozens of the nation’s top VCs to provide solid, long-term funding for its portfolio companies.
Q: What are the key attributes of what NMP would describe as a “good deal?”
A: In addition to meeting the firm’s basic guidelines (e.g. stage of growth and area of interest), NMP is looking for businesses that have solid management teams, preferably with experience running, growing and exiting a business, and business models founded on long-term, recurring revenue. The company’s products or services should be potentially disruptive and address a sizable, growing market.
In addition, NMP would like to see real evidence of a market need large enough to mitigate any “revenue risk,” so the remaining risk can be largely characterized as “execution risk.” Simple business models founded on differentiated service and/or technology offerings are most attractive.
Finally, NMP is interested in taking meaningful minority ownership (20-40%) in its portfolio companies, so emphasis is placed on determining a fair value for the business prior to investment as well as determining capital needs for the business required to reach profitability.
Q: How does NMP get involved with a business?
A: In addition to taking an active role on the board of the company, NMP partners with management teams to help recruit new team and board members, offers business development opportunities and provides valuable strategic advice based on our 25 years of investing experience.
Q: When should I approach NMP?
A: Because NMP’s focus is primarily on early and emerging-growth deals, the firm primarily likes to see companies that have at least established a management team, built the initial version of a product or service, and created a business plan with details on the company’s approach to growth.
Most companies will actually be in the market and will have shown some degree of revenue traction in their core business. While NMP will review deals that would be considered at their seed stage of development, there is a low likelihood that an investment will be considered. However, while not all companies are at the ideal stage for NMP involvement, the firm may still choose to follow the company’s progress over time.
Q: If NMP is interested in talking further about my business, what should I expect?
A: Depending on the manner in which NMP was introduced to the business, a member of our investment team will contact you to set up another meeting to discuss more specifics with the goal of better understanding the opportunity and its potential fit for NMP. If there is interest in furthering the discussion, you may be asked to present to the Partnership. Before an investment decision is made, further due diligence will be conducted. This will most likely include a request for additional information and a series of additional meetings. Some of these meetings may include conversations with prospective customers or others knowledgeable about the market you are addressing.
Q: How do I submit a business plan for NMP’s consideration?
A: Click here and follow the instructions.
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