Urbint Acquires WRM Software

Tech company founders pursue an M&A for a variety of reasons, some financial ("I need more capital to grow the company further"), some personal (“I want to retire"). Sometimes founders just feel the time is right. And that was the case for Richard Addotta, co-founder of WRM Software, a developer of software applications that help utility companies coordinate and manage their responses to storms.

Recalling why he felt the time was right for an M&A, Addotta recalls, "We had gotten the blue chip customers we were looking for, we had gotten the traction, we just needed some support to continue to grow and make WRM Software into what it had the capability to become. So I just decided this is the right time and contacted Corum."

A bootstrapped company 

WRM Software was founded in 2015 by Addotta and Pisit Yawapongsiri. Both had previously worked at energy company National Grid. With the founding of WRM Software, Addotta became the CEO and Yawapongsiri the CTO. Addotta was stimulated to start the company because working in the energy utility space he says, "I saw several problems in the job and thought about how we could do those things better ‒ things that would make a difference in the world. WRM Software is all about storm response. It's becoming a bigger problem, bigger storms that need these solutions to make them better in the future. So we started the company and worked hard to rectify the problems that we saw and build a common solution that would connect everybody and make it so power restoration can happen quicker."

WRM Software was an almost completely bootstrapped company with little outside investment. Addotta notes that any financial shortfalls in the business came out of his bank account. He admits, "That's a very difficult way to run a business, but it's also rewarding when you sell a company because you're in complete control. However, with that control comes the responsibility and the negatives that he says, "you have to prepare and be ready for."

Connecting with Corum

Like many Corum clients, Addotta's initial interactions with Corum were at their educational offerings.  "I went to several of Corum's seminars to learn about the process," he recalls. Addotta underscores that these were important learning experiences. "I had worked at a utility. I didn't understand investment. I didn't understand selling your company. I didn't understand M&A. These all represented pretty big gaps for me. So getting with Corum and understanding what it did and understanding how the process works was all an education to me." That educational experience established the foundation for Addotta to sign Corum as its M&A advisor in March 2024, when he and his co-founder decided the time was right for an M&A. 

The M&A process worked smoothly, and with Corum as their M&A sell-side advisor, Addotta and his co-founder successfully sold WRM Software to Urbint in June 2024. Urbint is a company that provides an AI platform for identifying and stopping threats to workers and critical infrastructure. 

The deal was a win-win for the buyer and seller. By incorporating WRM's functionality, Urbint is able to expand their AI and operational risk platform into severe weather storm response and utility incident management.  And for WRM Software, it gives their product a needed boost. “The company that bought us, says Addotta, is really going to help the product achieve what it has the capability to do ‒ to be that standard kind of platform that helps everybody get their power back on when it goes out, which is really what the goal is.”

Advice to sellers

Looking back on the M&A experience, Addotta says what was key was working with an advisory like Corum that focuses on software M&A. "Working with Corum, " he says, "was definitely a smart move." He advises founders and CEOs who are considering selling their company to get people who know what they're doing. He put it this way: "Know what you know and don't know. Then get people like Corum to help you with the things you don't know. Having experts that know what they're doing is a really smart step that you can take."

Addotta also points to the importance of having patience during the process. He underscores that sellers need to, "understand that ups and down are going to happen and be prepared for that. "

Of importance too is being calm, rational, and having a level head.  “Understand that you're doing this to get to an outcome,” advises Addotta. “Work towards that and make sure it's aligned with what you're looking for."

Life after the deal

Addotta says the deal changed his life in a thousand ways. He points to the fact that it removed the financial risk and pressures that business founders face every day. "All that previous risk is gone now," he notes. But just as important, the deal gives Addotta the time to participate in more family-oriented activities. He admits that you miss a lot of family things when you're building a business, when "you're putting your heart and soul into it with  your time and commitment." Being the father of three young children, Addotta is excited to be present for everything they're going to do. He looks forward to the fact that, "I can be there for all of it and not miss a moment. I'm extremely grateful for this next chapter.”