Inspired by the past. Motivated for the future.
Posted by | January 6, 2014
Over the past 60 years, Safeguard Scientifics has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to innovation, which has ultimately improved people’s quality of life, boosted the economy and provided companies a better way to do business. Those products and services have evolved over the years, from cable TV to home shopping, office products and data processing to automotive replacement parts, medical devices and diagnostics to cloud-based platforms.
This year, we continue our mission to be the leading capital provider for emerging and growth-stage healthcare and technology companies–not only in the Greater Philadelphia area and on the East Coast, but throughout the U.S.
For six decades, through many economic peaks and dips, the team at Safeguard has been resilient.
- We know firsthand what it takes. Our founder, Pete Musser, is a passionate entrepreneur at heart. When he started the company back in 1953 as the Lancaster Corporation, he raised $300,000 by selling 100,000 shares of stock at $3. Fast-forward to today and his unfailing optimism in the entrepreneur still resonates. Our team has decades of deep domain expertise in healthcare and technology from our careers as entrepreneurs, board members, financiers and operators. We are well-versed in building businesses and achieving returns for shareholders.
- We’re a hub of innovation. We connect our entrepreneurs to the right customers, partners and strategic acquirers. We have contacts across the country in key sectors including media and communications, financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, industrial and enterprise.
- We help the entrepreneur focus on the potential and erase any doubts. Entrepreneurs are oftentimes filled with doubts. Stemming from the values instilled by Safeguard’s founder, we focus on the potential and erase the doubts. A lot of backers focus on questions like “How?” and “Why?” We focus on “Why not?” and “How soon?”
- We’ve created an ecosystem. Having been on both sides of the table, we understand the challenges growth-stage companies face. Whether we’re helping to build out a management team, prioritize strategies, or execute an initiative with operational support, Safeguard is an active mentor and resource for growing companies.
- We benefit from repeat business. Entrepreneurs who have raised money from Safeguard and either went public or were acquired by top-tier, industry leaders often come back to Safeguard to fund and support their next revolutionary idea. Successful, repeat entrepreneurs are the heart and soul of our company.
At the beginning of 2013, we outlined various objectives to increase Safeguard’s implied capital under management to a range of $550 million to $700 million by year-end 2015. They include a greater consistency in the amount of deployed capital and capital realized through monetizations; targeting aggregate cash-on-cash returns at a minimum of 2x cost; and a larger stable of partner companies to provide for greater opportunities. We believe that we are on track to achieve these objectives.
Poised to enter our seventh decade of building companies, championing innovation and stimulating the economy, Safeguard is proud of our past and excited about the high-valued prospects of our future.
