In partnership with a private equity firm, Terry Graunke raised nearly $10 million in 1994 to fund the growth of Allin Communications Corporation, which was positioned to take advantage of advertising and marketing opportunities using interactive television and digital imaging. The company applied its proprietary interactive communications technology to the cruise-ship industry and secured contracts with four of the industry's top cruise lines.

Terry helped take the company through an IPO in 1996 that raised $30 million, just two years after initial funding, and also helped manage the acquisition of two add-ons. Allin Communications is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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In November 2000, Lake Capital, Frontenac Company, and other investors committed $125 million to DVC Worldwide to acquire the DVC Group and build it through organic growth and acquisition into a leading international marketing services firm. DVC was named "Agency of the Decade" by industry trade journal PROMO Magazine in December 1999. In a nod to Lake Capital's successful strategy, PROMO named DVC "Agency of the Year" in 2003.

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(Formerly Nasdaq:ERIV, now part of Omnicom)

In 1994, Terry Graunke, the cofounder and chairman of Lake Capital, invested $500,000 of his own capital to start Eagle River Interactive, an interactive development and electronic commerce company. As CEO, Terry guided Eagle River through its early stages of growth. Two years later, he took the company public with an IPO that raised more than $50 million.

Eagle River was one of the first interactive developers to recognize that size matters to Fortune 500 companies willing to commit funds to internet-based operations and communications. Growing rapidly to encompass larger-scale business operations and services such as IT training, Eagle River quickly added six offices in the U.S. and one in Paris. In addition, Terry recruited top senior managers such as Kevin Rowe, who had technology experience plus similar business philosophies, from leading systems integrators in order to differentiate Eagle River from advertising agencies.

In 1997, Eagle River's interactive development business was sold to Omnicom Group. Omnicom paired Eagle River with one of its other interactive assets, AGENCY.COM, to create one of the world's largest interactive developers.

After the sale, the continuing company was renamed Mastering, Inc. to reflect its ongoing focus on leader-led and computer-based IT training. Mastering was subsequently sold to PLATINUM technology in April 1998 in a transaction valued at more than $225 million.

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In 2002, Lake Capital and its co-investors backed a group of former Arthur Andersen & Co. partners, led by Gary Holdren, to create Huron Consulting Group, an independent provider of financial and operational consulting services.  The company’s professionals employ their expertise in accounting, finance, economics, and operations to provide clients with specialized analysis and customized advice and solutions.  Huron's Financial Consulting segment helps clients effectively address complex challenges that arise from litigation, disputes, investigations, regulation, financial distress, and other sources of significant conflict or change.  Services in this segment include financial and economic analysis, forensic accounting, expert support and testimony services, restructuring, turnaround and bankruptcy advisory services, and valuation analysis.  The Operational Consulting segment helps clients improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of their operations, reduce costs, manage regulatory compliance, and maximize procurement efficiency.  Huron provides services to a wide variety of both financially sound and distressed organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, medium-sized businesses, leading academic institutions, healthcare organizations, and the law firms that represent these various organizations.

Since mid-2002, Huron has grown from approximately 200 professionals to more than 600 in eight offices throughout the U.S.

Huron successfully completed an IPO in October 2004 and is now trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol HURN.

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In 1998, Lake Capital's founders, Terry Graunke and Paul Yovovich, raised more than $100 million in equity from private equity firms Frontenac Company, GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC, and a number of entrepreneurial individual investors to form Lighthouse Holdings, an acquisition corporation focused on building and growing a portfolio of diversified marketing services companies.

Once equity funding was in place, an additional $100 million in debt financing was secured. The Lighthouse team then completed sixteen acquisitions in the U.S. and internationally to build a company with more than $100 million in net revenues and more than $25 million in EBITDA. Transactions focused on companies specializing in marketing and business consulting, design and brand development, promotion, direct and database marketing, and sports marketing and event management - all high-margin, consultative service areas that allowed Lighthouse to build strategic relationships with corporate customers at the vice president of marketing level and above, resulting in numerous cross-sell opportunities that drove organic growth.

Lighthouse was acquired by Cordiant Communications Group in 2000 in a transaction valued at more than $500 million. Cordiant was subsequently acquired by WPP Group (NasdaqGS:WPPGY)

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(Formerly Nasdaq:MASC, now part of Computer Associates)

In 1996, Mastering Computers, a leading information technology (IT) training company with nationwide operations, was acquired by Eagle River Interactive, a public company founded and led by Terry Graunke. Mastering Computers leveraged Eagle River's interactive development skills to create a computer-based training library of more than 300 titles. The company also drew on its public parent's financial assets to expand its product line significantly into higher-margin training products and to expand geographically into Europe.

In 1997, Eagle River sold its interactive development business to Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest holding companies of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. The public company changed its name to Mastering, Inc. and focused on its IT training business, a more predictable, higher-margin, and faster growing business.

After growing Mastering from a $10 million business to a company on track to realize revenues of more than $50 million two years later, Mastering was acquired in early 1998 by PLATINUM technology in a transaction valued at more than $225 million.

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Respond2 Communications is a provider of direct response marketing services to clients that range from Fortune 1000 companies to entrepreneurial direct marketers.  Lake Capital worked with the executive team to grow the business to become the largest independent buyer of direct response television media.  This enhanced company was formed by joining Respond2, Cmedia, ATC Agency Services, and MMSI, four leading direct-response television ("DRTV") marketing services firms.

Taking advantage of the growing role of direct response television in driving sales in many categories, Respond2 Communications offers its clients a complete managed solution for their DRTV needs focused exclusively on improving their return on advertising investments.  Its service offerings include strategic marketing consulting, media buying, channel partner development, tracking and analysis, creative development, production, editing, dubbing, and full-service campaign management.

Having achieved our strategic and financial objectives, we successfully exited our investment in 2007.

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Founded in 1975, U.S. Communications Corporation was an integrated marketing agency providing a broad range of services to Fortune 500 clients. Its blue-chip client base included Apple Computer, GTE Corporation, and Quaker Oats.

Seeing an opportunity to combine strengths, Terry Graunke completed a leveraged buyout of U.S. Communications in 1990 and merged U.S. Communications with Unispond, a leader in direct marketing that had, itself, been formed through a number of acquisitions. The resulting privately-held, integrated marketing services company continued to grow and filed for an initial public offering in 1992. However, Omnicom Group saw its own opportunity and negotiated with Terry, acquiring the company before the IPO was finalized.

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