Bootstrapping Using Services from North Carolina: Ateb CEO Frank Sheppard (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: Where are you in terms of revenues?

Frank Sheppard: Last year, we did $21 million. Over the last two years, we’ve grown 20% and we’re projected to grow 20% this year.

Sramana Mitra: Current business is growing at about 20%. How profitable is your business? Do you put a lot of profit into growth? What’s your philosophy in managing?

Frank Sheppard: We always run the business profitably but the majority of our profits are reinvested into the growth of the company. It’s an exciting time. Our goal right now, as we share with our pharmacy customers, is to invest in the development of the tools, parts, and pieces to make them successful. We are, for all intents and purposes, reinvesting almost every dollar.

Sramana Mitra: Just to understand the business model, you generate profit which you then invest into growth year over year?

Frank Sheppard: What you’re describing is correct. We’re taking all of the margin and reinvesting it for growth.

Sramana Mitra: You own the company 100%?

Frank Sheppard: Originally, we were founded with five owners. Two of them left in the ’90s. We’re down to four owners now.

Sramana Mitra: They’re all active in the business. They’re not external investors?

Frank Sheppard: That’s correct. It’s completely privately held and all of the owners are currently active in the company.

Sramana Mitra: What do you want to do with the business? What is the long-term goal for this business? You just want to grow the business and keep it amongst you or do you, at some point, want to exit?

Frank Sheppard: Our primary long-term goal is to continue to be the leader in our space. Within that pharmacy-based patient care, we want to grow that. We do not have an exit strategy. None of the owners are clamoring to get out. We are prudent stewards of the entity.

Certainly, as we look at new ways to help pharmacies, there will be opportunities to partner with companies that have some of those skills that we need to add in. From a true defined strategy, we intend to continue to grow it through a combination of partnerships, self-funded growth, and prudent use of the resources and capital. We have a very close relationship with BB&T as a bank and they’ve been extremely responsive in meeting our needs for growth. We’ve continued to upgrade our advisors. They help us do what we need to do.

Sramana Mitra: Terrific. Congratulations on shepherding this through with a bootstrapped framework. That’s wonderful.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Bootstrapping Using Services from North Carolina: Ateb CEO Frank Sheppard
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