Francis Chmelir says St. Louis software firm LashBack has operated under the radar in St. Louis.
Before joining LashBack as its vice president of operations in 2017, Chmelir had his finger on the pulse of the city’s technology industry as the leader of startup support group ITEN. But he says he still didn’t have much familiarity with LashBack, which launched in 2003 and provides email compliance software.
“There are probably several people that have maybe heard about us over the years, but we weren’t ones that were prominently featured probably within the tech community here in St. Louis,” said Chmelir, who became LashBack's president in 2020.
That’s despite being a profitable company and growing to a team of 20 employees, Chmelir said.
Thanks to a recent sale, LashBack’s profile, and footprint, in St. Louis have the possibility to expand. In July, LashBack was sold to Morristown, New Jersey-based PerformLine. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
The deal brings together two firms focused on helping brands that operate in regulated industries with ensuring compliance in sales and marketing communications. LashBack’s technology is designed to help brands ensure compliance in marketing emails sent by third parties. PerformLine helps companies with compliance across several communication outlets, including calls, social media and websites.
PerformLine CEO Alex Baydin said his company was attracted to buying LashBack because it has “built the market leading solution to help customers discover and act on noncompliant emails.” He said the two firms share a number of customers, adding that several customers use PerformLine’s software while also turning to LashBack for email compliance.
“The acquisition makes perfect sense in terms of a product extension,” Baydin said.
The purchase of LashBack marks the first M&A deal completed by PerformLine since snagging investment in 2021 from venture and growth stage investment firm M33 Growth. The deal comes as Baydin said he believes PerformLine has the ability to generate $100 million in revenue. The company declined to disclose its current annual revenue.
With the acquisition, PerformLine has just under 100 full-time-equivalent employees, and Baydin said St. Louis could be a key market for expanding its team as it pursues growth.
“We’re excited about having boots on the ground in different markets and having a sizable footprint in the St. Louis market is exciting to us,” he said. “We believe there’s a lot of technical talent and other talent there that can help us further our mission.”
LashBack’s footprint locally includes an office at 4240 Duncan Ave. in the Cortex innovation district, with 18 of its 20 employees based locally.
Chmelir, who has taken on the role of vice president of email solutions, said LashBack’s sale to PerformLine enables both companies to team up to expand relationships with existing customers and attract new ones to use the full scope of their compliance software.
“With the PerformLine acquisition, it really helps identify opportunities where we can really put our companies together and grow revenue opportunities,” he said.
While PerformLine has kept a low profile locally, Chmelir said the firm’s ability to grow in St. Louis and achieve an exit is a highlight for the local technology sector.
“It’s a great story,” he said.
