Denver software firm Concept3D Inc. has acquired Silver Spring’s Localist, known for its campus events software platform.
Localist CEO Mykel Nahorniak will remain with the company he founded through the end of the year, and the firm will retain its brand under the Concept3D umbrella. Terms of the deal, which closed Tuesday, were not disclosed.
Concept3D said it received capital to purchase Localist from Level Structured Capital, an affiliated fund of New York private investment firm Level Equity focused on software companies.
Launched in Baltimore in 2009, Localist’s software helps centralize events information for its clients, about 80% of which are colleges and universities, the company said. It also serves state and local government tourism boards and the health care industry, including large hospital systems like New York Presbyterian and CommonSpirit Health — formed by the merger of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health.
Concept3D creates virtual tours and interactive maps for colleges and universities, convention centers, health care and retirement facilities and more. The Walt Disney Co., the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and CorePower Yoga — the largest yoga fitness studio chain in the U.S. — are among its clients.
The two software firms have partnered since 2016, making it possible for higher education clients to integrate aspects of Localist's software into the other company's maps, Nahorniak said. “From a production integration standpoint, that looked like on their 3D maps, you could click on any building on the map and see what was happening there,” he said.
Then in March 2022, Concept3D and Localist did a joint webinar for their customers to demonstrate how the two products could work together and began talking about what a combination would look like. Over the years, Nahorniak said he had conversations with potential acquisition partners, but none of those felt like as good of a fit as Concept3D, which already shared customers with Localist.
None of Localist’s 22 employees will need to relocate, Nahorniak said. The combined company will have 66 employees across 15 states, according to Concept3D. It wasn’t clear if there would be layoffs as a part of the merger.
“At this time our focus is on the growth of Concept3D and we're confident that together with the Localist team we'll grow faster and bigger,” said Gordon Boyes, CEO of Concept3D in a statement in response to questions about whether there would be layoffs. “In the near term, both companies will operate as is and over time we will work to integrate functions as the market and business dictate.”
The sale comes after two-and-a-half pandemic years for Localist, which saw the company rein in a pre-pandemic growth plan. Within months of the pandemic starting, Nahorniak said the firm went completely remote, shuttering its Silver Spring office and laying off its sales and marketing staff. “The crystal ball became entirely cloudy,” he said. So the firm also did what it could to maximize its cash on hand in case customers dropped out or were slow to pay Localist.
Despite the initial uncertainty, the firm ultimately “didn’t really lose many customers; and gained some as well,” he said. When colleges and universities were moving from in-person activities to the virtual realm, Localist’s software still provided a centralized place for organizers to post information.
Nahorniak said the company has remained profitable since 2010, but declined to share revenue numbers.
He said the integration of the two companies is “already going well,” adding that the companies’ missions to create community are extremely aligned.
“I was running this company for 12-plus years and was happy to continue to do so,” if the opportunity with Concept3D hadn’t come up, he said. But as it did, he said the next phase of his career will involve “spending time tinkering with technology” and working on new ideas.
