Matt Watson scales third startup to exit; shifting full capacity to his tech services company
July 8, 2024 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
At Capacity is returning to the company where it all began; the SaaS platform recently sold to CAMP Digital, co-founder and serial entrepreneur Matt Watson confirmed.
Details of the sale were not disclosed, but the exit comes just 16 months after Watson and Meg Stapleton launched At Capacity.
Click here to read more about the exit.
Matt Watson, At Capacity, Full Scale
The catalyst for At Capacity — a smart advertising platform geared toward small business owners who offer home services like plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work — was developed when Watson joined Edina, Minnesota-based CAMP Digital in May 2022 as its EVP of Software Development and worked alongside Stapleton.
“This was a great example of working with an existing company that has ideas but they don’t have the ability to execute on them internally,” Watson explained. “Meg and I were able to partner with CAMP Digital to take their idea and get it to market. We were so successful at it that they decided to buy the company back to keep it as their own strategic advantage in the market.”
“More entrepreneurs should look to partner with existing corporations to help them take their ideas and bring them to market,” he added.
The sale marks the third startup exit for Watson, who is also the co-founder of Full Scale and host of the Startup Hustle podcast. Following the $147 million sale of VinSolutions in 2011, he sold his second venture — the APM solutions startup Stackify LLC — to privately owned Huntington Beach, California-based Netreo in 2021.
Editor’s note: Full Scale is a financial supporter of Startland News. Matt Watson is expected to be featured at Startland News’ next Innovation Exchange event — July 17 at Plexpod Flashcube — as part of a conversation on entrepreneurial expertise. Click here to register.
“It is hard to believe, honestly,” Watson noted. “Successfully creating any kind of tech company is hard. Somehow I have started and exited three SaaS companies, plus I own Full Scale which is doing great with 300 employees.”
“The biggest difference [with At Capacity] was the short timeframe,” he continued, noting the short but productive interlude between its founding and sale.
Watson plans to remain involved in assisting the CAMP Digital team with the At Capacity product, he said, but his primary focus will be on Full Scale — a tech services company that helps client businesses build teams of software engineers.
“I started At Capacity before I knew I was going to buy out my business partner at Full Scale and become the CEO,” he explained.
RELATED: Serial entrepreneur Matt Watson completes strategic buy-out of Full Scale
Featured Business
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Founder: RFP365’s new Client Discovery launch shows startup-corporate deals build stronger tech products
A new product module from RFP365 defies common perceptions about Kansas City corporations overlooking tech talent in the startup community, said co-founder Stuart Ludlow, announcing the launch of Client Discovery. “Traditionally, we always say that an RFP [request for proposal] involves two people,” he said, describing the product. “Someone writes an RFP and then a…
Homegrown Resonate Pictures cultivates corporate market through creative risks
The same creative energy reverberating through cities like Los Angeles, New York City and Portland can be found in Kansas City, said Marc Havener, the filmmaker behind Lawrence-based Resonate Pictures. His message for fellow creatives: “We can make this back home.” After 10 years on the sets of blockbuster movies like “Pirates of the Caribbean,”…
Happy Food gathers ingredients for nationwide grocery platform, meal-locating app
Happy Food Co. has grown beyond distributing flavorful meal kits through small, standalone coolers at Kansas City-area Price Chopper and Hen House locations, said chef and co-founder Kiersten Firquain. The 2017 Startland Under the Radar startup has now developed a software platform — in partnership with retailers nationwide and 75 local vendors — to enable grocers…
Porch Light Plans hopes to bring durable, affordable home design to the masses
Modern homes should be durable and well-designed enough to last hundreds of years, said Katie Hoke. Lawrence-based Porch Light Plans combines sleek aesthetics with thicker insulation and fewer windows to achieve a contemporary housing option with the potential to slash utility bills in half, said Hoke co-founder of the boutique architectural design firm. “If every…