VSS Capital Partners helped GreenSlate become the go-to payroll software provider for film and TV productions.
By Sam Blum, Senior Writer
Oct 28, 2024
John Finn was working as an accountant in Syracuse, New York, when he decided he needed a change. A fan of 1970s films (The Godfather and The Sting are favorites), Finn moved to New York City, where he freelanced on movie sets before founding GreenSlate, an entertainment payroll and accounting company.
By 2017, Finn had moved GreenSlate to Los Angeles and had offers from several private equity firms, most of which wanted to acquire a majority stake in his company. Finn didn’t want to give up control, but needed capital to accelerate growth.
“I had some debt that I could have paid off, there were some software acquisitions we were looking to do, and it just seemed to be the right time,” Finn says.
In 2018, GreenSlate accepted a minority investment from VSS Capital Partners, a PE firm founded in 1981 that typically invests between $20 million and $50 million per deal. One of the reasons Finn felt comfortable choosing New York City-based VSS was its track record of backing founder-led companies in the tech-enabled business sector. VSS had also recently completed an investment in Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, a GreenSlate competitor that VSS and its co-investors sold for $700 million, generating a reported 6X return. The investment gave VSS a strong understanding of the tricky morass of rules that comes with the heavily unionized film industry.
One of GreenSlate’s first uses of the new capital was the purchase of a software program that automatically accounted for stipulations in union contracts and eliminated the need for producers to enter payroll information by hand. Shortly after upgrading its technology, GreenSlate faced a historic and unforeseen challenge: Covid. To keep the company afloat while film and TV production ground to a halt, VSS managing director Trent Hickman recruited chief financial officer Jason Vines from the payments company 2Checkout, a PayPal competitor. Vines helped Finn steer the company through the pandemic without laying off a single employee, instead implementing a combination of pay cuts and furloughs.
When Covid restrictions were lifted and productions resumed, GreenSlate had a competitive advantage in that its all-in-one app could process payroll and accounting remotely at a time when film and TV crew members didn’t want to be on set if they didn’t have to be.
“Removing all paper from the process became much more important,” says Hickman. “People were at the time concerned that, if I hand you a timesheet and haven’t appropriately sanitized my hands, I could give you Covid.”
In 2023, VSS sold its stake in GreenSlate, which grew EBITDA by more than 10X during VSS’s holding period. Finn credits VSS with supporting GreenSlate’s paperless vision amid a turbulent period for the entertainment business.
“They could have been more obstinate and said, ‘Why don’t you just keep doing what Cast & Crew is doing?’ ” he says.
VSS’s support of GreenSlate didn’t end in 2023, as the firm reinvested alongside new investor Francisco Partners. Having VSS’s backing also helped GreenSlate attract marquee clients, like indie film stalwart A24, and develop partnerships with other production companies. These clients could discern a simple but important truth about the company, according to Finn.
“There’s somebody who believes in you and has invested in your business,” he says.
The information presented is for educational purposes only anddoes not intend to make an offer or solicitation to sell or purchasesecurities. All investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are notguaranteed. Advisory services are offered through VSS Fund Management LLC, anInvestment Adviser registered with the U.S. Securities & ExchangeCommission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.