Host Danielle Kerner, Director of Business Operations at Acumatica, speaks with Chad Martin, Operating Managing Director of Vista Equity Partners, about Vista's acquisition of Acumatica and what it means for the company's future growth.
Host Danielle Kerner, Director of Business Operations at Acumatica, speaks with Chad Martin, Operating Managing Director of Vista Equity Partners, about Vista's acquisition of Acumatica and what it means for the company's future growth. Chad shares how Vista's operational expertise, AI focus, and value creation model are helping Acumatica scale, and what the company's cloud-native advantage means for mid-market businesses today.
Timestamps:
02:20 - How Vista works with portfolio companies
03:45 - Why Vista acquired Acumatica
07:46 - What makes a successful software business
08:33 - AI's impact on enterprise software
10:32 - Vista's Agentic Factory
17:11 - Growth opportunities post-acquisition
18:21 - Vista's value creation plan
22:44 - The power of peer learning across the portfolio
25:37 - How ERP supports companies as they scale
27:20 - The future of ERP
28:56 - Lightning round
Links:
[00:00:00] Danielle Kerner: Welcome to the Acumatica ERP podcast, where we explore practical innovation for growing businesses. I'm Danielle Kerner, Director of Business Operations for Acumatica. Today, we're joined by Chad Martin, the Operating Managing Director of Vista Equity Partners. And just a bit of background before we get started.
[00:00:30] About a year ago, May 29th, 2025, to be precise, Acumatica announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners. The deal closed in late July, and since that time, Vista and Acumatica have been working on bolstering growth, strengthening execution, and delivering value to the growing businesses that are Acumatica's customers.
[00:00:54] Today, we'll be discussing the aspects of this partnership to get a better understanding of how Vista sees the ERP market and the broader technology landscape. Chad, welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:09] Chad Martin: Thank you for, uh, having me on here today, Danielle. I'm really looking forward to it, and, uh, I've really enjoyed working with Acumatica so far and, and, uh, appreciate you guys including me in your podcast series. Very, uh, good honor for me.
[00:01:21] Danielle Kerner: Uh, Chad, for our listeners who may not be familiar, can you tell us about Vista Equity Partners and the type of companies that you invest in?
[00:01:29] Chad Martin: So Vista is a private investment firm focused exclusively on software and software-enabled businesses. We manage roughly 100 billion in assets across several funds. Our flagship fund, which is our largest, focuses on established, scaled software companies. Foundation targets the mid-market, and Endeavor focuses on earlier stage growth companies.
[00:01:50] We also have credit vehicles that lend to software businesses, and Acumatica is a flagship fund investment. What makes Vista genuinely different, and I say this as having been an operator long before I joined the firm, is that we only do software. That's the focus. We've built pattern recognition and operational infrastructure that a generalist private equity firm simply can't replicate.
[00:02:12] We've seen hundreds of software businesses across every vertical and growth stage, and we've distilled what actually works to run an efficient software company into repeatable plays that we bring to every portfolio company.
[00:02:24] Danielle Kerner: Highlighting that point, uh, repeatable playbooks, uh, that every portfolio company can leverage is such a unique opportunity.
[00:02:32] As Operating Managing Director of Vista, how do you work with portfolio companies to help them grow and improve operations?
[00:02:39] Chad Martin: Yeah. Yeah. So my role is a bit unusual in private equity. I came up as an operator, not an investor. Uh, before this role, I was CFO at two different Vista portfolio companies, P2 Energy Solutions and DealerSocket, and also I was a CFO at another private equity-backed software company.
[00:02:57] So I've sat in the chair that CEOs and CFOs and other execs that I now work with are sitting in, and that shapes how I approach these partnerships. In practice, I sit on five portfolio company boards, Acumatica being one of them, and I work directly with those CEOs and the lead- their leadership teams.
[00:03:14] It's a combination of coaching, challenging, connecting them to broader-- Vista's broader resources, and helping them think through the big strategic decisions they're facing. Vista has what we call a value creation team, a dedicated group of functional experts across sales, marketing, finance, HR, product, cyber, engineering, and my job, in part, is making sure that our portfolio companies are actually tapping into that capability, not just going it alone.
[00:03:45] Danielle Kerner: And I really think, uh, that that's where the opportunity for exponential growth comes in, leveraging those functional experts who've seen it, who've experienced it, including yourself. Uh, so speaking of, uh, one year ago, Vista acquired Acumatica. What stood out about the company and the position in the ERP market?
[00:04:06] Chad Martin: You know, what drew us to Acumatica was the combination of a genuinely differentiated product and a business model with strong unit economics and a loyal, growing customer base. Acumatica's cloud native architecture matters. A lot of legacy ERP players are retrofitting cloud onto an on-premise foundation, and that's a meaningful structural disadvantage.
[00:04:29] Acumatica was built for the cloud, which gives it a real edge as mid-market companies modernize their back office infrastructure.
[00:04:37] Danielle Kerner: Absolutely. I'm so, uh, intrigued to hear you say that. It's, it's certainly, uh, a drum that we've been beating for a very long time at Acumatica, uh, sort of this born in the cloud, uh, concept- Mm-hmm
[00:04:47] uh, and notion, and it's, uh, really has been, uh, such a strategic advantage for, uh, Acumatica and, and our customers, quite frankly. So digging into that a bit more, and beyond the financials and the market position, uh, what did you observe about Acumatica's culture that gave you confidence in our team and the business?
[00:05:08] Chad Martin: You know, what stood out culturally was the strength of the partner ecosystem and how deeply Acumatica has invested in those relationships. That's not something you manufacture. It reflects a consistent philosophy about how you go to market and how you treat the people who are extending your reach. The team also had a scrappiness and customer centricity that you don't always see in companies that have been around as long as Acumatica has.
[00:05:33] Danielle Kerner: Yeah, absolutely. Love hearing that. We have invested, uh, heavily in our, uh, partner, uh, ecosystem, uh, and we're a team. It's, it's great to hear you say that and feel validated in, uh, in those efforts. Uh, what is it about the way Acumatica operates that you think has been the hardest for our competitors to replicate?
[00:05:53] Chad Martin: Honestly, I just was talking about it, like the partner channel. I mean, it takes years to build trust with a VAR ecosystem, and competitors just can't buy their way into that. You combine that with the cloud-native architecture and the depth of the product functionality for mid-marketing, manufacturing, distribution, construction, that's a differentiated position that's hard to attack quickly.
[00:06:15] Danielle Kerner: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Yes, you're right. It is, it's built on trust, and that level of trust, uh, you know, takes years and, uh, you know, lots of, uh, different initiatives, uh- Mm-hmm ... that, you know, in part, you know, are successful over the years. Uh, maybe not, uh, as successful as we want, but we keep trying. And, uh, that trust really is the foundation for that, uh, that teamwork and, uh, that unique VAR partner relationship that we have.
[00:06:42] So what, uh, characteristics makes Acumatica or made Acumatica particularly compelling from an investment perspective?
[00:06:49] Chad Martin: A few things come together here. You, you have a large, under-penetrated addressable market. The mid-market is still heavily on premise or running legacy systems that are due for replacement.
[00:07:00] You have a product we were talking about that's generally competitive on functionality and superior on deployment flexibility, and you have a business model, subscription, recurring revenue, that creates durable cash flow and strong retention dynamics. It's funny, like when we are internally discussing potential investments, the highest compliment we can pay to a business is to say, "This business is so good, it looks and acts like an ERP."
[00:07:26] So when we have a chance to buy an actual ERP business, let alone a leading one like Acumatica, we jump at the chance.
[00:07:34] Danielle Kerner: I love that. That is great. Uh, ERP is not an easy animal. That is for sure. And but, yeah, I do absolutely love hearing you say that, Chad. That's great. What would you say are the top three characteristics of a successful business?
[00:07:47] Chad Martin: Top three characteristics, I, you know, as I just mentioned, one is the stickiness of the product, such as gross revenue retention in the mid-90s and net revenue retention above 100%. That means your existing customers are both staying with and growing with you, which is the best leading indicator of product market fit and customer health.
[00:08:07] Second, scalable go-to-market motion. Whether it's a direct sales force, a partner channel, or both, you need a repeatable engine. And third, a leadership team that can operate with urgency- And adapt. The market doesn't wait. The companies that compound well over time have leaders who are constantly raising the bar on themselves and their organizations.
[00:08:28] Danielle Kerner: 100% true of Acumatica, and here's, uh, a truth that, uh, you're quite familiar with. AI is transforming the software industry, in case you didn't know, and I know that you do. Uh, how do you see AI shaping enterprise software platforms like ERP?
[00:08:44] Chad Martin: Well, first, you know, you mentioned AI. Like, V- Vista has been beating the AI drum for years now, so this is not a new thing to us.
[00:08:52] We have been working with and talking to our companies, uh, about AI and, and their need to be leaders here for several years. And Acumatica being newer to the portfolio is kind of having to catch back up to how, how hard we've been pushing companies all along here. Specifically, you know, the ERP and software, AI is moving from a feature to a platform shift, and ERP is one of the categories where it has real near-term impact.
[00:09:18] The data's already in the system, transactions, workflows, approvals, inventory movements. And AI can surface patterns, automate decisions, and reduce the manual overhead that's always been the fic- friction point in ERP adoption. The companies that figure out how to embed AI in the workflow in a way that actually reduces user burden rather than adding complexity, they're gonna have a durable advantage.
[00:09:45] I mean, Acumatic is leaning very hard on bringing this AI forward into the product. Vista also has an internal group that we call our Agentic Factory that is focused on helping our portfolio companies accelerate their agentic opportunities, and Acumatic is partnering with this team, and I'm really excited to see what the results will be.
[00:10:05] Danielle Kerner: Yeah, absolutely. Uh, and you made the point that Vista has long been beating this AI drum. Uh, you know, while it's, it's certainly top of mind for everybody today, it's, uh, been something that, uh, Vista has been talking about for quite some time. And, and as an example, the Agentic Factory, uh, is one of many opportunities that we as a portfolio company can leverage.
[00:10:24] Can you tell us a little bit more about how, uh, either Agentic Factory or some other, uh, one of the different, uh, programs that a portfolio company such as Acumatica can leverage, and what that ultimately may mean to our customer base?
[00:10:38] Chad Martin: Well, so the Agentic Factory is basically a group of folks who've come out of-- a lot of them come out of Google, who've really helped our companies just basically hone in exactly what they need to be building in their product.
[00:10:50] And so right now they're partnering with, with John, and John, and the team and talking about, you know, Mitten and, and kinda what are basically the, the, the, the definitions that we need to put into the Acumatica product. And then we help find resources, be it... The internal resources and the agentic team or the partnerships that Vista's created with the large language models or the hyperscalers, and bring all that together just really to try to accelerate what, uh, what our companies are doing.
[00:11:16] Danielle Kerner: Absolutely. I think what's, uh, super interesting and, uh, maybe not apparent to everybody is, you know, as a portfolio company with, uh, Vista, is we get to leverage the learnings from all the other portfolio companies as well as everything that, uh, Vista has put together. So, you know, talk about sort of transformation at mach speed, I think that, uh, there really is this opportunity, uh, for, uh, Acumatica to exponentially accelerate our growth, and, uh, super exciting.
[00:11:44] Super exciting time, uh, for us as a company. Is there a risk of moving too slowly on AI adoption- No ... in enterprise software? What does falling behind look like, uh, in this market?
[00:11:55] Chad Martin: Yeah. You, you know, I do, I do think there's a risk, right? And I, I think the risk isn't just competitive, though that is a huge, huge area of risk if you let your AI native competitors kind of outflank you in kind of bringing product to market.
[00:12:10] But it's also about talent and customer retention. You, you know, your best engineers wanna work on AI-enabled products. Your customers are being pitched by every competitor that's slapped on a chatbot and are calling themselves an AI product. And if you're not genuinely advancing the capabilities you deliver to customers, you're gonna lose mindshare, even if you still are under contract.
[00:12:32] And really, what falling behind looks like is just shrinking deal sizes, elongated sales cycles, and ultimately you see that net revenue retention that starts drifting below 100.
[00:12:43] Danielle Kerner: Yeah, those are very specific, uh, examples that you point out. Uh, can you tell us a little bit more about when you've seen instances of companies that, uh, were a little bit slow or, um, you know, sluggish in, in terms of their AI adopt-
[00:12:57] Chad Martin: Right now, there's still time for everyone to get caught up, so I think there's some companies who've been a little bit more behind kind of knowing, like, what actually to do, and that goes back to kind of what we're trying to do at Vista with the Agentic Factory and others, is just making sure that we're presenting and showing kind of the right way to kind of approach the, the problem set.
[00:13:17] So, you know, good news, I don't have a lot of examples of companies who've kind of like, you know, missed the window or lost out because, because we're so focused on this. But I think, like you, like you're saying, like, ultimately what we'll see is just, you know, some companies just being less relevant in the conversation if they don't lean in and start with, uh, you know, having AI functionality in the conversation.
[00:13:42] And that's new. You know, I have one company I worked with who, maybe it is a good example. Like, I was pressing AI, you know, 12, 18 months ago, uh, and they were saying, like, "I don't know why you're keep bringing up all this AI stuff. Like, our customers aren't asking about it." And I'm like, "Well, they may not be today, but they will be."
[00:14:01] And fast-forward They were doing some analytics, and they said, "You know, last year, I think basically none of our RFPs asked for, like, basically AI as a criteria in the RFP process." And they said, "This year, every RFP is asking us, what is our AI? What are we doing in AI in the product?" And they were, like, basically admitting, like, just because we weren't seeing it in the moment, we thought that that's what, how the things were gonna shake out.
[00:14:34] And it turns out, right, like, the market moved, and moved very quickly. And so I think they were pretty happy that, uh, maybe Vista was being a little bit overbearing in what they need to bring- ... bring in.
[00:14:44] Danielle Kerner: It is interesting. You know, you have kind of this crystal ball. Vista has a crystal ball. They can look at, you know, companies in your portfolio, across the portfolio that, you know, are more advanced, those that are less advanced.
[00:14:54] And, and the collection of the best practices and, uh, creating ways to adopt those best practices. Agentic Factory is one example. I think, uh, again, I just can't say enough about what a, a phenomenal opportunity I think that is, uh, for Acumatica, our partners, and our customers. All that being said, and with so many ways to leverage AI, it's difficult, honestly, to know where to start.
[00:15:17] How can businesses prioritize which AI investments to make when resources and engineering bandwidth are finite?
[00:15:26] Chad Martin: Yeah. That's a really good question, and that, that gets to the heart of what we're trying to, to hone in on specifically. Because one of the things is, like, just 'cause you can do something and build a lot of things or add AI cap- AI capability to your product, doesn't mean you should.
[00:15:42] So, you know, I think first is you have to start where you have the best data and the clearest workflow bottleneck, right? You don't build AI for a demo. You build it for the daily active user who's doing something repetitive and high stakes. And for A- ERP, that often means accounts payable automation, financial close, demand planning.
[00:16:04] So, like, pick the two or three workflows where AI can demonstrably reduce time, reduce error rate. Like, ship that, build credibility, and then when you have that credibility, you can expand the surface area of what you're doing. And this is already how Acumatic is approaching their future roadmap, so it's already kind of how you're doing things.
[00:16:23] But, so I'm confident we're on the right path, but we will have, all have to continue to reinforce with each other to make sure that, again, we're going back to first principles. Like, do we have the data? Do we have the, the, the instrumentation to know that if we build this, it will actually create a, uh, a meaningful impact for our customers?
[00:16:42] Danielle Kerner: 100%. Uh, everything you just, uh, articulated would resonate with our customer base. Uh, and AI, not for the sake of AI, but AI for the sake of solving problems, increasing efficiency, uh, making our companies better, 100%. So, uh, uh, getting away from the AI topic for just a minute, what opportunities does Vista see to help accelerate Acumatica's growth following the investment?
[00:17:06] Chad Martin: Look, I think the core opportunity is really, like, like, h- how do we scale go to market, right? How do we deepen the partner ecosystem? How do we expand into new verticals, new geographies where the product's already competitive, but maybe distribution hasn't caught up yet? Uh, there's also a significant product expansion opportunity, particularly around payments, which we're spending a lot of time on, platform extensibility, ISV relationships that really can make Acumatica the hub of a broader technology stack for these mid-market companies.
[00:17:37] Danielle Kerner: Yeah, absolutely. I think that, uh, y- you may have mentioned it, one of our, um, big advantages is our extensible platform, and that does position us well for, uh, enabling us to be sort of that connective tissue that brings in, y- you know, a full scope of solutions for our customers. Anything is possible, uh, at this point.
[00:17:58] Tell us a little bit, if you would, about Vista's, uh, value creation plan or VCP.
[00:18:03] Chad Martin: The way Vista approaches the process of accelerating growth and value with our companies is through what we call, you mentioned, our value creation plan, or VCP. And the VCP is how we bring structure to the process of engaging with newly acquired companies.
[00:18:19] At the start of every investment, we work with the management team to build a detailed plan that identifies the highest priority levers, not just financial targets, but operational initiatives with owners, timelines, measurable milestones. It's not a slide deck that we put in a drawer. It's a working document that drives the board conversations and management accountability.
[00:18:43] And the goal is to make sure that the energy of a new investment, everyone's really excited, that that doesn't just dissipate into 100 different priorities. You know, focus matters, and I always say it's just as important to define what we're not gonna focus on as what we're gonna focus on. But if we're gonna focus on it, let's have a plan, and let's get it done.
[00:19:02] Danielle Kerner: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And, you know, my experience with this process and working with Vista is, uh, the, the partnership in it. Uh, and really working with Vista, uh, through that process and, you know, the outcome of that, uh, is something that we can all get behind, both Vista and Acumatica. Uh, so-
[00:19:21] Chad Martin: And what's important, right, and, and, and y- you've probably heard me say it more times than you care to, Danielle, it's like if Vista just shows up and says, "Hey, we've got these great ideas.
[00:19:29] Here's 10 things you gotta go do," and then we throw them on the table and walk out and leave, that, that doesn't really work. Like, it really has to be that kind of collaboration and making sure that we're listening to the things that you know you all need to do faster, uh, or more efficiently to drive your business And then also kind of like gain the trust around that the ideas that we have will actually have an impact.
[00:19:54] Uh, and then collaboratively putting those together and putting them into that, into that value creation plan.
[00:20:00] Danielle Kerner: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. I have heard you say that a time or two, but the other thing I've also heard you say is, uh, that, uh, you know, A- Acumatica is the expert in what we do, and then w- combined with, uh, all of the, um, expertise that Vista brings to the table is really, uh, what, uh, ultimately, uh, the VCP is, uh, is sort of that combination of, you know, what together can we accomplish?
[00:20:24] So how does Vista typically partner with portfolio companies like Acumatica to help them scale and innovate?
[00:20:31] Chad Martin: Yeah. And it starts with, you know, the operating model I described, like OMDs like me embedded with companies, sitting on boards, working directly with leadership teams. But the real leverage is the value creation team we talked about, the functional experts who've seen these problems across dozens of companies, uh, how to build a sales operations function, how to structure a, a customer's success team that improves net revenue retention, you know, how to approach, uh, pricing to make it be more impactful.
[00:20:59] That institutional knowledge gets deployed directly into our portfolio companies and accelerates what you would otherwise take years to figure out independently. We also facilitate peer exchange across our portfolio. You know, CEOs and functional leader- leaders talking to their counterparts at other Vista companies, attending events together, um, being in sharing sessions.
[00:21:22] You know, that's underrated. The best ideas often come laterally, not top-down. In fact, most of the best practices that we deploy are just great ideas that worked at one company that we just copy and pasted across the portfolio and onto any new investment. And with the pace at which we're building knowledge around AI, you mentioned having the crystal ball.
[00:21:42] I'd say the crystal ball is a little hazier these days given how much AI disruption there is. You know, but any company, even a new one in the portfolio like Acumatica, can find a better way to use AI, you know, can create more clarity in that crystal ball, and we can create the nest b- next best practice that we adopt and share based upon those kno- that knowledge and that learnings.
[00:22:05] Danielle Kerner: Absolutely. And, you know, I think, uh, touching on the opportunity to connect with our peers, both portfolio company to portfolio company, CEO to CEO, what have been some of the most interesting engagements that you've seen, and, and what were the outcomes of those?
[00:22:22] Chad Martin: Gosh, y- y- you know, it goes back to, y- you know, I definitely appreciated when I was in the portfolio, so when I was an executive, going to the sharing sessions and being connected to my peers.
[00:22:34] Actually creating relationships and having people you can call up and be like, "Okay, this may be a dumb idea, but, you know, I'm facing this thing. How can you help me?" That really matters. And you can send a list of names around and say like, "Oh, here's all the people who have your title. Feel free to call them."
[00:22:49] But, but that's not as effective as, you know, having worked together, been in rooms, work, you know, you know, even done, like, you know, some of the games or the people play or the icebreakers. Like, that, that creates kind of a camaraderie in the portfolio that then you don't feel self-conscious about sharing.
[00:23:04] And the great news is all the portfolio companies are not competitive, right? We don't really own competitive assets, so everyone is got a unique shared experience of being a software company, but are off doing their own thing in their own verticals, in their own areas. So it really is a risk-free way to kind of just pose questions and seek feedback.
[00:23:23] Certainly things for me that I got out of it was just when there was a whole bunch of stuff around 606 and kind of r- you know, how we're gonna actually do, um, uh, financial reporting and accounting for software. And, you know, we had a working group, we had direct access to, uh, uh, experts that Vista brought to the table from, from the Big Four accounting comp- uh, firms, and that really helped us kind of hone something that I knew I could bring to my accountant because we were all collectively working on it together.
[00:23:51] So that would be one area where just, you know, really tactical ways to just accelerate what we get done. Uh, 'cause I always hate to say, like, I don't wanna have to reinvent the wheel. In a portfolio with 50, 60, 70, 80 peers, we should be able to leverage from each other and just move faster.
[00:24:07] Danielle Kerner: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:24:09] We talked about Acumatica culture earlier in the conversation. Uh, Vista's culture is a culture of sharing. Uh, and, you know, all of the things that you just mentioned, you know, just everyone wanting to help everyone to the extent that they can. To your point, no one's competitive. You know, a rising tide lifts all boats, and I think that, uh, everyone kind of recognizes that within, uh, the portfolio.
[00:24:32] And, um, you know, uh, reaching out for help has always been a welcome opportunity, uh, in our limited experience, uh, thus far with, uh, Vista, but certainly, uh, a welcome one.
[00:24:44] Chad Martin: Yeah. Reaching out for help is a sign of maturity and, and it is seen as a good thing. It's not seen as a sign of weakness or of, of anything else.
[00:24:53] It really is like we try to foster that across the portfolio because whatever pro- whatever kind of problem one company's facing, chances are somebody else is going through the exact same thing.
[00:25:06] Danielle Kerner: Yeah, 100%. What operational challenges tend to emerge as companies scale, and how do ERP systems help address those challenges?
[00:25:15] Chad Martin: You know, the classic scaling pain points are visibility and coordination Right? As companies grow from 50 to 500 employees, you know, the informal systems that worked, you know, the spreadsheets, the tribal knowledge, the manual approvals, they just all stop working. They all sudden all stop working just all at the same time, right?
[00:25:37] Like, you start making decisions on bad data or slow data or no data. And ERP is fundamentally about creating a single source of truth across finance, operations, the whole business, so that leadership can actually see what's happening and act on it. You know, the companies that invest in a modern ERP platform before they need it, meaning before the pain is acute, tend to scale more cleanly.
[00:26:03] The ones that wait end up in a painful rip-and-replace cycle at exactly the wrong moment.
[00:26:08] Danielle Kerner: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And unfortunately, uh, companies still go through that a little bit, but, uh, more and more they're recognizing if not the opportunity to, you know, advance themselves, uh, before that pain becomes acute, uh, uh, you know, they are aware that systems and processes can be demonstrably improved with a modern ERP platform like Acumatica.
[00:26:31] So that's absolutely something that we've seen and heard over the years. How do you see the ERP and cloud software landscape evolving over the next couple of years?
[00:26:40] Chad Martin: Well, I guess three things. One, consolidation of the platform layer, AI embedded into core workflows, and an accelerating, uh, shift away from on-premise in the mid-market.
[00:26:50] You know, the days of rum- running an on-premise ERP are numbered. Customers have seen what SaaS delivery looks like in other parts of their tech stack, and they're not gonna accept sitting in that model in ERP indefinitely. I also expect the definition of ERP to expand. You know, the best platforms will become the connective tissue for a broader ecosystem of point solutions rather than trying to do everything natively, and that's a real opportunity for companies like Acumatica that have invested in platform extensibility.
[00:27:20] And I think actually going beyond that, right, like my personal opinion is that also many of these capabilities that span horizontally across multiple ERPs because one company figured out how to solve a problem that's ERP-agnostic, you know, that, as I said, you know, that, that may become more part of the E- core ERP offering going forward.
[00:27:39] You know, as ERP companies have more development capacity due to efficiencies of new AI tools, additional functionality that was previously ceded to the ecosystem of point solutions, you know, would that actually require our data and connectivity to the ERP? Maybe they'll actually be embedded in the ERP itself, uh, and that'll make products like Acumatica more powerful and more valuable for the end customer.
[00:28:02] Danielle Kerner: Okay. So last of the serious questions. Uh, what excites you the most about Acumatica's growth trajectory over the next couple of years?
[00:28:12] Chad Martin: Well, I mentioned it, you know, the market timing honestly, like we're at the beginning of a multi-year migration cycle in the mid-market. You know, companies that have been running legacy systems are being forced to modernize.
[00:28:25] AI, AI is only sort of sharpening this, this need. Uh, and the cloud-native ERP is the answer, especially a cloud-native ERP that is built in delivering AI, um, and agentic functionality. So Acumatica is so well-positioned with its product, its partner ecosystem that's very strong, and the team that's proven that it can execute.
[00:28:47] So the alignment of those things with a positive and favorable market tailwind, the growth potentials... The growth potential is very significant, and I'm genuinely excited about what the next three to five years look like.
[00:28:59] Danielle Kerner: Well, that's great to hear you say that, 'cause you have, uh, certainly a purview that's unique in the sense that you see lots of companies in various stages of growth and investment.
[00:29:09] So very excited to hear you say that about Acumatica. So then our next series of questions is what we call the lightning round. Uh- Cool ... and as the name would suggest, that's right, we're looking for some, uh, quick answers. Uh, don't give it too much thought. We wanna learn more about you and, uh, things outside of, you know, perhaps ERP and Vista.
[00:29:28] So if you weren't working in private equity and software, what career might you have pursued?
[00:29:34] Chad Martin: Gosh. Um, probably teaching or maybe cooking. I've always been drawn to the practical side of knowledge sharing, and many of my favorite business classes as an undergraduate or graduate student were always from the professors who had real hands-on experience.
[00:29:51] So I think that'd be fun for me, and I really love to cook. But I think if I cooked for a career, it would probably stop being fun and just be very hard work. So not that teaching is not also hard work, but I think I would just enjoy that more.
[00:30:03] Danielle Kerner: Interesting. Okay. I, I can see the connection between the two there.
[00:30:07] Okay. So, uh, what skills do you think, uh, is the most underrated in business?
[00:30:13] Chad Martin: You know, I'd say listening. Like, you know, real listening. Like, not just waiting for your turn to talk, but actually processing what someone's telling you before you respond. Most business problems are communication, communications problems in disguise, and most communications problems start with people not listening well.
[00:30:31] Danielle Kerner: Hmm. Interesting. All right. So this is some real insight into Chad. I heard that you have one child who recently graduated high school, and another one that isn't too far behind. You're almost an empty nester. Tell us what you're most interested and looking forward to, I should say, uh, in exploring or revisiting as an empty nester.
[00:30:51] Chad Martin: Uh, I look forward to exploring travel. You know, travel that my wife and I deferred 'cause it just wasn't the right time for the family. You know, there's places that we want to go and see that require more flexibility and time than just, just a long weekend allows. So I'm really looking forward to having the opportunity to
[00:31:07] Danielle Kerner: do that.
[00:31:07] What's first on your list?
[00:31:09] Chad Martin: Um, maybe Japan.
[00:31:11] Danielle Kerner: Oh, interesting. Okay.
[00:31:13] Chad Martin: We'd love to get the kids there. We haven't, like, lined it up yet, so- Gotcha ... if they don't, if they don't figure out how to prioritize it, then we'll just go without.
[00:31:19] Danielle Kerner: We'll just leave them in the dust.
[00:31:20] Chad Martin: Yeah.
[00:31:21] Danielle Kerner: 100%, I get it. Um, okay, so what's one piece of advice you'd give to a software CEO preparing for a PE partnership for the first time?
[00:31:30] Chad Martin: Get comfortable with transparency. Uh, you know, the instinct for a lot of s- founders and CEOs is to really try to manage the narrative, you know, put your best foot forward, smooth over the rough edges. That doesn't serve you well in a partnership with private equity. You know, honestly, the faster you show us where the real problems are, the faster we can help work together and solve them.
[00:31:54] And so the relationship works best when it's genuinely collaborative, and that starts with honesty about where you are.
[00:32:01] Danielle Kerner: I love that. That is fantastic, 'cause you're right, I think there is a tendency to have your guard up a little bit. Uh, but, uh, you know, you having been on both sides of the equation, I think this is invaluable insight.
[00:32:12] Uh, Chad, thank you. Uh, we've gone on quite a journey in the last several minutes. You've led us through who Vista is, why Acumatica was particularly interesting as an acquisition candidate, and your view on our combined future. Uh, today's conversation has been incredibly insightful. So for our audience, if you weren't excited about Acumatica's future before this conversation, I'm certain that you are now.
[00:32:37] Thank you for being on the show.
[00:32:39] Chad Martin: Hey, it was my pleasure. Thank you for including me. Hopefully, I was able to give a little bit of window into, uh, into all the various topics, and, uh, really excited to partner with, with, uh, with Acumatica, the team, and, and everything I said is true, and so let's make it all happen.
[00:32:54] Danielle Kerner: Absolutely. We're here for it, 100%. Thank you, Chad.
[00:32:58] Chad Martin: You bet. Thanks, Danielle.
[00:33:01] Danielle Kerner: And thank you to our listeners for tuning in to the Acumatica ERP Podcast. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any future conversations on practical innovations for growing businesses.