Success Story:

Company Overview

Converge Technology Solutions Corp. provides information technology services, offering multi-cloud, identity management, resiliency, security and data center solutions to address business and IT issues. Converge utilizes the deep relationships of their management team, as well as third-party IR consultants, to develop relationships with prospective investors.

Ashley Schafer, Investor Relations Coordinator at Converge Technology Solutions, was looking for a platform that would allow the team, when needed, to do some investor targeting and outreach on their own, while also allowing the Company to organize and keep track of all the activity of third-party IR consultants.

With this in mind, Converge Technology Solutions sought out a modern solution that would enhance the management of the Company's IR efforts. Ashley aimed to elevate the pre-existing system utilizing excel spreadsheets in order to optimize on communications and improve on reporting accuracy. Once Irwin was presented to the Company, it was evident the tool would help tackle their targeted goals.

Challenge

Organization was one of the main areas of focus for Ashley when she joined Converge. Ashley was looking for a solution that would help to better organize all of the investor relations activities, and give the Company some independence when looking to target or do research on investors on their own terms.

Organization & Ownership

While Converge's in-house and outsourced IR efforts were effective, Ashley recognized the priority of organization and benefit to hosting information in one central accessible place. In addition to the data being organized, it was deemed relevant to own the data on an ongoing basis.

Accountability

"Everyone can talk a big game about the benefits of their network or services, but what matters most is whether or not they are executing on their targets. Prior to Irwin, we were limited in our ability to assess and report on the activities of the various third-party teams."

Limited In-House Investor Targeting

Before utilizing Irwin, Converge's in-house ability to target appropriate micro-cap investors was limited, given the partial resources and context available while researching online.

How Irwin Helps Increase Efficiency of Roadshows

"When we do a roadshow, most of it is organized by our IR consultants. What I like to do is use Irwin to check whether there are contacts we've already met with that our consultants may not be aware of. This gives us the ability to better tailor our communications, and is something that I find really helpful."‍

Ashley continues, "One of the realities of roadshows is dealing with meeting cancellations, so there are times where we're left with an empty time slot to fill. That's when we turn to Irwin. First, we reference our existing contacts in the city we are in. If we are unable to arrange something with them, we then go into Irwin and do additional targeting and reach out to individuals that we haven’t touched yet that appear to be a good fit."

"Lastly, measuring the quality and impact of the investor meetings scheduled by our third-party IR consultants is imperative. Alongside direct feedback, I am able to verify through Irwin whether the meetings booked are high quality."

How Irwin Improves Connectivity Across In-House and Third-Party Teams

"In IR, it's all about touch points, and where those touch points are coming from. When using IR consultants, it's of the utmost importance to coordinate and communicate efforts effectively so to avoid overlap and redundant efforts, otherwise you might risk appearing uncoordinated or misinformed."

"So, as Investor Relations Coordinator, my whole focus and concern is to make sure that we have one platform that can be accessible for the teams to use as a reference point. For example, we’re able to determine whether someone is a shareholder, or if we’ve engaged with them before. This allows us to approach our communications with them accordingly."

‍The Importance of Irwin's Investor Targeting, Even When Well-Covered by IR Consultants

"Outside of our IR consultants, Converge used to be predominantly focused on existing connections forged by the management team. We also worked with a third-party that was conducting mass targeting, which meant they were reaching out to investors in bulk, with a good majority not being an appropriate fit for our listing or market capitalization."

"Since then, the team has shifted our focus towards complimenting our existing relationships, as well as being able to target micro-cap investors in-house. Targeting is such an interesting challenge as a newly listed micro-cap company, so having Irwin's targeting tools and insights has proven to be pivotal in optimizing on the number of connections we make with micro-cap investors."

Benefits of Irwin

Irwin has become an integral part of Converge's investor relations program. With IR activity taking place both in-house and with third-party IR consultants, Irwin has resulted in several benefits for the Company.

As Ashley frames it, "Converge moves incredibly fast, and it's a challenge at times to stay ahead of the curve. Having one central platform that everyone can access not only saves time, but also enhances the management of our investor relations program."

Reporting

"As soon as we started using Irwin, we had the ability to optimize on IR reporting, and everything we wanted was readily available at the click of a button.With Irwin's reporting, I can outsource work and accurately look back on those efforts."

‍Customer Service

"The responsiveness of the Irwin team is so important, especially the user friendly aspect. The assistance and proactiveness I get from Irwin's customer service team is honestly one of the greatest aspects."

Retail Investor Database

"As a micro-cap company, one of the things we really love is the retail database in Irwin. It's a powerful tool for a micro-cap like ourselves, and where we were formerly predominantly dependent on the relationships of our third-party networks."

Results

More High Quality Investor Meetings

Irwin's targeting capabilities continue to influence new and existing IR outreach. Having the ability to access both retail and institutional insights, in addition to working with IR consultants, helps Ashley and her teams overcome the challenges of being a micro-cap company in an increasingly passive investment market.

Increased Connectivity Across IR Teams

"When conducting IR activity both in-house and with third-party consultants, connectivity across teams must be a high priority in order to compliment varying efforts and for a multitude of other reasons. I'm thankful that we have Irwin to help make the process of working together more fluid."

Irwin is an integral part of our investor targeting efforts. Whether you outsource, or are responsible yourself for targeting initiatives, Irwin provides valuable insights into where efforts are most appropriate.