Like many great entrepreneurial journeys, the EngageSmart story was born from a simple premise – that paying a bill online “shouldn’t be that hard”. Originally founded as InvoiceCloud in 2009, the company worked to set a new standard for dependable, frictionless interactions between companies and their customers, offering vertically tailored customer engagement software and integrated payments capabilities that seek to simplify digital adoption and self-service. We are proud to share the company’s story, from its founding to its 2021 IPO, and — in the words of Founder and CEO Bob Bennett — “the three keys” to the company’s success.
EngageSmart: By the Numbers
Over the course of a decade, EngageSmart translated founder vision into customer reality. By December 2022, the company’s milestones included:
Figures shown as of December 31, 2022
”It Shouldn’t Be That Hard”
The EngageSmart story begins in 2009 when CEO and Co-Founder Bob Bennett’s frustration while paying a utility bill sparked this entrepreneurial journey. The simple premise that going paperless and paying a bill online “shouldn’t be that hard” led Bob and his co-founders – all industry veterans in electronic payments – to launch InvoiceCloud, the predecessor company to EngageSmart, in 2009.
We met Bob a few years later, and by that time InvoiceCloud was making bill presentation and payment easier for hundreds of clients across local government and public and private utilities, driving significant increases in self-service and saving time for clients and their customers alike. Our relationship with Bob was initially grounded in a shared understanding that consumer preferences and expectations for digital experiences were outpacing the capabilities for many organizations. We recognized that the innovation, elegance and ease-of-use we saw and experienced within industries like search, shopping, travel and entertainment simply wasn’t found in the billing and payments space. Together with the InvoiceCloud team, we saw an opportunity to bring the company’s client engagement solutions to other verticals where digital adoption lagged. Over the next few years, we worked alongside Bob and the team to help the company execute an organic and acquisition-driven growth strategy that expanded the company’s reach to new markets, including healthcare & wellness, financial services and charitable giving.
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“Building a Culture of Excellence to Fuel our Continued Growth”
Since Summit’s founding, we’ve partnered with hundreds of founder-led companies. This experience has fostered a deep appreciation of and understanding for the tenacity and focus required to scale a business and a culture. Over the course of our partnership with EngageSmart, we’ve been continually inspired by the team – and in particular by Bob’s leadership, vision and commitment to his people and customers. At the time of the company’s IPO (NYSE: ESMT), Bob shared three foundational principles at the heart of the company’s success to date.
People
“We are a people-first organization, and this extends beyond employees to include our customers, their clients, our partners, and our investors. Their opinions, needs, and aspirations drive us, and we strive to respond with transparency and a sense of urgency. We promote a customer-first organizational model that places customers at the top of our organizational chart.”
Product
“We believe that the best product wins, and we are motivated by the ongoing pursuit of innovation and market leadership. Our software is mission-critical for our customers and therefore difficult to replace, resulting in very high customer retention. While some software offerings grow complacent in this position, our collective competitive spirit drives us to constantly invest in our solutions and deepen the value they deliver. The journey never ends.”
Partnership
“We recognize that our solutions operate within an ecosystem, and we view all participants in this ecosystem as our partners. This includes our customers, the adjacent software and service providers they may use, and their clients. By viewing these constituents as partners and treating them as such, we accrue the benefit of focused product feedback and enhanced distribution, which have helped drive our organic growth.
“Our view of partnership also extends to our customers’ communities, where we hope to make an impact through engagement. Our customers play an incredibly important role in their communities by serving a wide variety of wellness seekers (mental and physical health), non-profits, taxpayers, utility customers, financial service consumers, and medical patients. We are proud of the small part we play in these communities by providing solutions that are easy to deploy and use, that address their unique functional requirements, and that turn complex processes like payments and self-service into engaging digital experiences.”
Growth Timeline
EngageSmart's Growth Timeline
2009
InvoiceCloud founded
Focused on local government and utility verticals
2015
Summit Partners invests
Entered the healthcare vertical with the acquisition of HealthPay24
2017
Entered the wellness vertical with the acquisition of SImplePractice.
2018
Entered the non-profit vertical with the acquisition of DonorDrive
Introduced and integrated telehealth solution
2019
Launced charity streaming - live streaming fundraising
General Atlantic invests alongside Summit and management team
2020
Rebranded to EngageSmart
Introduced support for Apple Pay, Google Pay
2021
Completes IPO on September 23 (NYSE: ESMT)
2024
Acquired by Vista Equity Partners
Rebrands as InvoiceCloud
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EngageSmart: By the Numbers
Over the course of a decade, EngageSmart translated founder vision into customer reality. By December 2022, the company’s milestones included:
Figures shown as of December 31, 2022
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The content herein reflects the views of Summit Partners and is intended for executives and operators considering partnering with Summit Partners. For a complete list of Summit investments, please click here.
Certain statements about Summit Partners made by Bob Bennett herein are intended to illustrate Summit Partners’ business relationship with InvoiceCloud and Mr. Bennett, including with respect to Summit Partners’ role as a business partner, rather than reflect Summit Partners’ capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services. Mr. Bennett was not compensated in connection with his participation or statements; however, since InvoiceCloud is a former portfolio company of Summit, Mr. Bennett did receive general compensation in connection with his employment by the company. In addition, Mr. Bennett is an investor in a Summit fund and may have conflicts arising from his role with InvoiceCloud due to the company’s relationship with Summit.
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