Leaders at Intapp Inc. are expecting more growth in the Charlotte office, following a $273 million initial public offering on Wednesday.
Palo Alto, California-based Intapp (NASDAQ: INTA) sold 10.5 million shares at $26 per share, garnering an approximately $1.6 billion valuation. Underwriters still have a 30-day option to purchase up to another 1.575 million shares. Intapp provides cloud-based software for professional and financial services firms. It acquired Charlotte fintech company DealCloud in 2018.
The IPO is the next step in Intapp's growth trajectory, said Ben Harrison, president of financial services at Intapp and co-founder of DealCloud.
"Certainly that means we'll be investing in all of our office locations around the world. Charlotte is a huge hub and a very important center for us, and so we will be growing there as we have in past years," Harrison said.
About 900 of Intapp's 1,600 clients are in the financial-services sector, Harrison said. Intapp's DealCloud offering largely focuses on investment banking and private capital markets firms. Active markets and an increase in M&A and other transactions has led companies to look for infrastructure to support their own growth, he said. Intapp's other offering, OnePlace, is marketed toward professional services firms.
Intapp needs employees to drive its revenue growth plans. It estimates there are 60,000-plus firms that could be new clients, Harrison said, a prospect that positions to become a multibillion-dollar business. He declined to share hiring or revenue targets, instead describing them as "pretty robust." There are also opportunities to expand products available to existing customers, he said.
Charlotte is a good place for Intapp to do business for multiple reasons — lower real estate costs, an international airport and access to talent, Harrison said. Intapp plans to hire for positions in sales and marketing, the service and delivery teams and account management, among other roles. The firm's website now shows more than 30 positions available locally.
Intapp will have to expand its Charlotte office, currently at 300 South Tryon, as it adds employees, Harrison noted.
"There's one side of me that's just excited for the employees that stayed (post-acquisition) and then have experienced that journey because they're all really good people," said Rob Cummings, a co-founder at DealCloud. He exited the firm when Intapp acquired it.
Cummings said Charlotte is seeing a lot of momentum in fintech, especially in the last couple of years. That includes homegrown companies, such as AvidXchange Inc., which is said to be eyeing an IPO, and Passport, which recently raised $90 million. Another example is Payzer, which just raised a $23 million Series D round.
There are also big companies setting up offices in Charlotte, including USAA, Credit Karma and Better.com, as examples.
Cummings traces Charlotte's success back to the 2008 financial crisis when high-end financial-services talent was forced to look for other options. The city is now seeing the benefits of those investments.
Dan Roselli, founder of Packard Place and RevTech Labs, said success stories like DealCloud gives the perception that others can build world-class companies and create wealth in Charlotte. DealCloud got its start at Packard Place, so Roselli had a front-row seat to its success. He has watched the company come full circle in the last decade or so.
The city has propelled itself past the point of being questioned as a viable option for startups, Roselli said. Up next are more IPO-related conversations.
Harrison said it is business as usual for Intapp employees post-IPO. The firm is still focused on building vertical-specific software. Employees are working in a hybrid environment due to Covid-19, with return-to-office plans starting this month. Intapp plans to accelerate that process as the summer progresses.
