Phil Kurtz: Entrepreneur, Dealmaker, Recession-Buster
Philip Kurtz is doing his part for the Oklahoma economy. He’s directly responsible for more than 300 high-paying jobs in the greater Tulsa area, and counting.
A graduate of Edison High School and the University of Tulsa, Kurtz founded and built hospital billing service provider CIS Technologies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He sold it to National Data Corporation (NDC) in 1996. CIS employed 450 at the time – 200 in Tulsa alone. CIS now flies the McKesson flag. Kurtz retired in 1999, but the firm continues to employ some 300 highly compensated knowledge workers in Tulsa (and many more outside Oklahoma).
Phil reflects on two years of retirement that followed his exit from CIS/NDC/McKesson: ”Worst job I ever had.”
So he set out to build another company; one that would help large employers deal with a challenge Kurtz faced as head of CIS: lack of control over health care benefit expenditures. Benefit Informatics, as it came to be called, would gather and analyze employee health care cost data for employer-customers and provide strategies for cost reduction. Significant research and development ensued, followed by product development. In 2005 the product was ready for launch. Customers signed on and the business took flight.
Successful new businesses burn cash like a Hallett Raceway dragster burns nitromethane, and profits are not supply enough — as every successful entrepreneur knows. Kurtz funded Benefit Informatics out of his own pocket and then accepted funds from friends and family, individual investors and, finally, VCs. But by year-end 2009, market demand, revenue growth and expansion opportunity growled for more. The employee count — all in modern offices at Jenks Riverwalk — had grown to 22, but it was time to secure funding for the next wave of growth. This $10 million company was on its way to $100 million — it just needed capital.
Kurtz and his M&A representative hit the phone and the road, and by spring 2010 had several funding options. Kurtz’s pedigree made the effort much easier than the time before. He chose the offer from BenefitFocus, a Charleston, South Carolina-based company that provides benefit software to large employers and insurance carriers. “Courting and raising capital takes time, and it can be expensive, but we are committed to growth and, of course, growth requires capital,” Kurtz says.
The BenefitFocus deal offered more than Kurtz set out to obtain. In addition to growth capital, it provided:
- immediate payday for shareholders (including six managers who had earned stock as part of their compensation package)
- ownership in the investing company
- handsome incentives for continuing to grow the company
- commitment to keeping employees in Tulsa
- considerable synergies between the two companies
It was the proverbial offer that’s too good to pass up. The deal was consummated last week. “We expect our employment to double in the next year, and then double again, and again, over the next few years,” says Kurtz.
Kurtz has proven his ability not only to establish viable businesses but attract necessary capital. In his CIS venture, he secured the backing of some big-time players: GE Capital, Banker’s Trust and Swiss Re.
Some guys think, work and plan. Other guys get it done. Kurtz is a man who gets it done: a one-man economic development program for Oklahoma.
If you thought that with an Oklahoma education and an Oklahoma location you could not compete in the open market, think again.
U.S. Headed for Bankruptcy
You knew him. He was the talk of the town. Spent a fortune. Had everything. Then, suddenly, busted. Bankrupt.
Everyone was shocked.
What happened, as the facts came to light, wasn’t misfortune. It wasn’t even unique. Just another instance of a man achieving a high level of prosperity and then, over time, his beliefs about his wealth and his ability to spend grew to exceed even his sizeable income. He developed his own sense of entitlement. His own story of manifest destiny. He began working less and spending more time enjoying the fruits. Flaunting his wealth and exercising his power.
Oklahoma Economy Double Dipping?
Many Oklahomans were reporting a healthy pickup in economic activity earlier this year.
Things were getting back to normal.
I certainly felt it. Phones were ringing again. A few new clients. Business owners reporting higher revenue. Expensive restaurants were bustling.
What happened? It seems the air has been let out of the tires. I noticed it immediately after the 1,000 point Dow dive. Was it May 5? Read the rest of this entry »
CCMP Invests $325 million in Oklahoma City-based Chaparral
CCMP Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, has invested $325 million in a private business located in Oklahoma City. Chaparral Energy was founded twenty-two years ago by Mark and Chuck Fischer. Messrs. Fischer continue to manage the business as CEO and President, respectively. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s Official. You Survived One Nasty Recession.
It’s over.
Word may not have reached your desk yet but the bleeding has stopped. The fever has receded. The prognosis is for a full recovery.
Dr. Jeffrey Dietrich — senior analyst for the Institute for Trend Research – presented the latest economic data today at a seminar arranged by the good folks in the MidFirst Bank – Tulsa Corporate Banking Group. Dr. Dietrich said: Read the rest of this entry »
Oklahoma State Gives Lesson on Branding
People want to do business with organizations that are credible and trustworthy. They want to patronize organizations that are good corporate citizens. Ultimately, people want to be inspired, have hope and feel good about themselves and others.
From a business owner’s and manager’s perspective, people reach for your products when they feel good about who you are. This is the thinking of J. Alexander M. (“Sandy”) Douglas, Jr., president of Coca-Cola North America. He spoke at the Oklahoma State University “Tulsa Business Forums” luncheon at the Renaissance Hotel on March 24. Read the rest of this entry »
Acquisition Advisors to Speak at Succession Seminar
Smart succession planning will be the topic of a seminar for business owners sponsored by the respected law firm of Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson, LLP. The date is Thursday, March 4 and David L. Perkins, Jr., Managing Director of Acquisition Advisors, LLC, has been agreed to enlighten the audience on: Read the rest of this entry »
Oklahomans Not Isolated from Global Financial Scams
Financial scams raise the cost of capital for all of us. Even more, they tear a financial and emotional hole in their victims. One of the surprise affects of the recession is the exposure of a bevy of big time scams. And though we live comfortably in this mid-size Great Plains town, we cannot let our guard down.
Bernard Madoff’s inferno scorched Oklahoma investors and, if you stop and think, scams and scam artists are all around us. I asked a handful of people what local scammers first come to their mind. Bill Bartmann won hands down. Three bankrupt companies but, of course, no convictions. Second was Stephen Dodson, the 1990’s securities fraudster that did some time. Read the rest of this entry »
Perkins to Address Western Oklahoma Manufacturers
Beginning at 9:30am on Tuesday, January 19th, David L. Perkins, Jr. will address a prominent group of owners of Western Oklahoma manufacturing firms in a presentation titled, “Business Valuation for the Business Owner.” Read the rest of this entry »
No Recovery for Small U.S. Businesses
Owners of small U.S. businesses are not experiencing an economic rebound. Not by a long shot. They also have little confidence that better times are near. This is in contrast, of course, to both the public equities (i.e. the “stock market”) run that continues unabated and the regular media reports of improvements in the global macroeconomic indicators. Read the rest of this entry »