Shut down in 2016, IntroNet just got sold to a New York-based SaaS company

When IntroNet CEO Mike Krupit shut down his startup in 2016, the founding team kept on the lookout for an exit strategy for its assets.

“Martin [Babinec, IntroNet cofounder] and I continue to work to find a buyer for IntroNet, or an opportunity to merge it with another product or company where the whole would be greater than the sum of the parts,” Krupit wrote in a lengthy post-mortem blog post.

Turns out that such a deal just came together: On Thursday, a New York-based software company called SAM.AI announced it acquired IntroNet’s assets — primarily its software and intellectual property — in conjunction with a seed round investment led by Babinec’s investment firm UpVentures Capital.

The deal was complex, but let’s break it down:

“SAM is an integrated sales and marketing platform for small business media — think CRM with marketing tools and project management built-in,” said Krupit in an email. “This is a space that interests Martin and his UpVentures VC firm. The addition of IntroNet’s smart relationship technology could expand its differentiation.”

UpVentures led the first tranche of a $1 million investment round into SAM.AI, kicking in $400,000. Another $100,000 came through New Jersey-based Newark Venture Partners. 

“In conjunction with that investment, we did an asset sale of IntroNet in consideration for equity in SAM.AI,” Krupit said. “As cofounder and CEO of IntroNet, I took the seed investor’s Board seat and took a venture partner role in UpVentures to represent them.”

Raz Choudhury, cofounder and CEO of SAM, said bringing IntroNet’s tech aboard will let SAM leverage social networking talent and technology and “further enhance the platform’s intent signals and social networking capabilities.”

How is Krupit, who now keeps busy as a mentor to other founders through his new company Trajectify, feeling about the deal?

“Real good, considering the alternative,” the serial entrepreneur said. “To have a product, technology, and experience live on as part of something bigger, and be able to be a key part of that new journey, is pretty exciting. I wish more of it could have stayed in Philly, but I’m still here and hope to bring in a couple of local investors as well.”