Operator Perspectives, Insights, and Updates
How we operate, how we partner, and how we build long-term value across every company in the Solen portfolio.
What We Look For: The Acquisition-Ready Software Business
We are looking for our next software partnership right now. Founders often ask us to describe the ideal business, expecting a wish list of impossible standards. The real answer is more useful, and more encouraging, than that. We look for durable businesses run by people who care about what they built. Below is exactly what that means, and a short checklist you can run against your own company today.
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SaaS Revenue Multiples: How Buyers Use Them and What They Mean for Your Exit
A SaaS company revenue multiple is the ratio between what a software company is worth and the recurring revenue it produces, usually measured against ARR; in the private lower middle market, that multiple often falls around one to three times ARR, depending on how an acquirer judges retention, growth, margin, predictability, and risk. If a business with three million dollars of ARR is valued at six million, it carries a two times revenue multiple. Acquirers use these multiples as a shorthand for comparing businesses, and founders or SaaS business owners planning a transition should understand them for a simple reason: the multiple, not the revenue, is where most of the negotiation actually happens.
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Solen Earns Great Place To Work Certification for the Second Year
Solen Software Group is Great Place To Work Certified for the second consecutive year, with 92% of our team saying Solen is a great place to work.
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AI and Mission-Critical Software: Which Businesses Are at Risk and Which Aren't
AI is lowering the cost of building software, but it is not an equal threat to every software business. The line falls between products whose value was their features and companies that are genuinely hard to replace. Here is how to tell which side your business is on.
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Mid-year Update: What I've Learned from the First 6 Months
Six months ago, Jacob Reeves stepped in as General Manager of FMSI, the branch performance and workforce optimization platform that joined the Solen portfolio. He arrived with a clear picture of what the job would be.
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Who Buys Software Companies? The 6 Types of Acquirers Explained
Understand the six main types of software acquirers, what each one looks for, and how founders can assess the right fit before starting a transition.
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Six Months In: Select Solen Portfolio Highlights
This is a look across the Solen portfolio. A few companies in detail, the rest in brief, and the pattern that connects them. These businesses operate in different industries and at different stages. What they share is a permanent home and a partner that reinvests rather than extracts.
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"Too Small to Go Big, Too Big to Stay Small": How Cairn Applications Found a Permanent Home
Some of the best software companies are the ones you never hear about until you need them. Cairn Applications is one of them. Since 2008 it has built the software that keeps the waste hauling industry moving, and in December 2025 it joined the Solen portfolio. This is the story of why its founder chose a permanent home, and what that has meant for the company, its team, and its customers.
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How To Value A Software Company: A Founder's Guide to ARR Multiples
Valuing a software business is not a single calculation. It is a judgment formed from several inputs: revenue quality, growth trajectory, customer retention, market comparables, and the purpose behind the exercise. This guide walks through the full process. Whether you are preparing for an eventual transition, approaching a fundraising round, or simply want to understand what your company is worth today, the methodology is largely the same. The inputs you emphasize will differ.
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Behind The Investment: What We Looked For In Track Star
An honest retrospective from Solen's M&A team: the investment thesis behind Track Star, what we tested in diligence, and what convinced us to partner.
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