San Francisco, CA – September 8, 2016 — Serent Capital (“Serent”), a San Francisco-based private equity firm, announced that it has sold Diamond Mind, the leader in campus-wide payment solutions for independent schools, to Education Brands, a leading software provider to the education industry and a portfolio company of Genstar Capital. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2003, Diamond Mind is the nation’s leading provider of payment processing software and services for independent K-12 schools. Diamond Mind serves over 1,200 schools, including approximately half of the largest 50 private K-12 schools in the country. The company’s suite of solutions is specifically tailored to allow school business officers to consolidate, streamline, and reconcile payments across the campus to reduce costs, minimize risk, and improve the payment experience for parents. Diamond Mind’s offerings include solutions for online tuition, online giving, admissions, bookstore, summer programs, and purchase cards.
“We chose to partner with Serent given their deep domain expertise in our market, strong operational experience, and growth resources available to help Diamond Mind achieve its full potential,” said Katherine Novikov, Co-Founder of Diamond Mind. She continued, “That partnership has been fundamental to the company’s rapid growth, and I am excited to see the business continue that success as part of Education Brands.”
“Over the past two years, our partners at Serent have been instrumental in helping us achieve this significant milestone,” said Mike Barros, CEO of Diamond Mind. “Serent’s help has allowed Diamond Mind to bolster its senior leadership team, build-out its sales capabilities, deepen its partnerships with industry peers, and expand its product portfolio to better serve our school clients.”
“We are thrilled for the team at Diamond Mind and congratulate them on this successful outcome,” said Kevin Frick, partner and co-founder of Serent Capital. “The team did exceptionally well in executing on several growth initiatives while maintaining a steadfast focus on the company’s mission to serve educators, administrators, and parents. We are fortunate to have been a part of Diamond Mind’s success story and would like to thank the Novikov Family for the trust they put in us as their partners.”
Serent invested in Diamond Mind in 2014, after multiple years of pursuing an investment thesis in the education and payment processing markets. Over the last two years, Diamond Mind has successfully built-out its software portfolio, enhanced its customer acquisition engine, and grown its senior executive team. As a result, Diamond Mind has grown revenue nearly 60%, while increasing its client base by over 400 schools since Serent’s initial investment.
About Serent Capital
Serent Capital invests in growing businesses that have developed compelling solutions that address their customers’ needs. As those businesses grow and evolve, the opportunities and challenges that they face evolve with them. Principals at Serent Capital have firsthand experience at capturing those opportunities and navigating those challenges through their experiences as CEOs, strategic advisors, and board members to successful, growing businesses. By bringing its experience and capital to bear, Serent helps growing businesses thrive.
For more information on Serent Capital, visit www.serentcapital.com.