How Evergreen Helps Founder-Owned MSPs Build Lasting Business Legacies

Lloyd Wolf started his namesake business in 1989. What began as a custom database program for businesses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, quickly morphed into the area’s premier IT consulting firm. 

When it came time for succession planning for his family’s business, Wolf wanted to find the right buyer for the company he’d built over nearly three decades. He set out looking for a buyer that would protect his employees, retain their jobs, and offer opportunities for growth. Wolf Consulting found that home at Evergreen in 2018, where it’s continued to thrive for the past seven years as an independently run business still in Pittsburgh—where it all began. 

Watch: How Evergreen Builds Lasting Homes for Founder-Owned IT Businesses

Preserving a Business Legacy

“Evergreen stood out from the other options.”

Wolf’s story may sound unique in the world of private equity—and it is. But at Evergreen, protecting your company’s heart and soul is standard operating procedure. 

As Alpine Investors’ IT services platform company and one of the largest managed services providers (MSP) in the world, Evergreen partners with small, people-driven businesses like Wolf Consulting using a decentralized business model that allows businesses to succeed long after they’re acquired.  

“Evergreen stood out from the other options that I had because they were going to hold the business for the long term and allow the business to continue to run independently,” Wolf says. 

In contrast to the traditional PE model where a company is bought, restructured, and sold a few years later, Evergreen’s team works as strategic partners so your company can continue to grow within our network for years to come.  

“My decision to sell the business was tough. This was my baby,” Wolf says. “Making sure that I found the right buyer for the business was very important to me.”

Ultimately, Wolf chose Evergreen to ensure future growth for his employees and the business overall. “I really wanted to protect my people. I wanted them to continue to have their jobs. I wanted them to have more opportunities to grow in the future.” 

One Key Hire at a Time 

“It started with one small business.”

Wolf Consulting was just the beginning. Since 2018, Evergreen has acquired over 100 IT service companies around the country, growing revenue from $6 million to over $600 million in seven years. 

“Ultimately, it started with one small business,” says Evergreen Founder and CEO Jeff Totten. “It’s been one acquisition and one key hire at a time.” Today, Evergreen continues building quality homes for businesses and their leaders. 

Companies acquired by Evergreen have the advantage of using pooled resources from hundreds of leading IT companies in the world. Totten and his team take the best pieces of each business—from leading talent to cutting edge software—they acquire and share those best practices across the entire Evergreen platform.  

Not Your Average Investment Scorecard 

“It’s a personal decision partnering with a buyer and letting go of your baby.”

A great business doesn’t necessarily fit into a standard investment scorecard—at least not at Alpine. While we look at the basics like your team size and operational maturity, our investment team also evaluates some nontraditional metrics like: 

• How are you taking care of your customers? 

• Do your customers stick around? 

• Are your customers growing?  

 As part of Alpine Investors, Evergreen partners with the leading IT companies in the U.S. that fit into our firm’s unique investment criteria. Organic growth is a key goal for every new company we work with.

“It’s a personal decision partnering with a buyer and letting go of your baby you’ve built for decades,” says Evergreen’s Vice President of M&A, Shiraz Kazmi. “We take that seriously and aren’t changing things that don’t need to be changed.” 

Decentralized Models to Support Long-Term Growth 

“We think beyond tomorrow.”

Evergreen’s decentralized model empowers businesses like Wolf Consulting to retain local decision-making authority, while centralizing some functions—like finance and HR—at the Evergreen holding company level. This structure allows each business to stay focused on what they do best: serving customers.  

Evergreen, like every Alpine platform company, doesn’t target a short-term time horizon. “We think beyond tomorrow,” says Evergreen Operations Partner, Tim Burke.

“What can I do today to invest in people, process, and systems? What do I need to do today that will pay off five or 10 years down the line?”  

If you want to sell your business—the one you’ve spent years or even decades building—you want a long-term home for your company. Evergreen’s MSP platform operates on a long-term hold model. 

“We make sure we maintain the secret sauce that makes the companies we acquire successful to begin with,” says Totten.  

Interested in growing your business with Alpine? Connect with our team to learn more.