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Spotlight Events, Inc. is worked up to announce the acquisition of Leap! National Dance Competition — now providing two distinctive manufacturers beneath one firm! Individually, every competitors has sturdy reputations within the business, however collectively they’re proving that two are higher than one. Each competitors will proceed to maintain their separate model identities. However, now working beneath one guardian firm, they are going to be capable to supply much more to all of the studios which were attending each competitions for a few years. Dance Informa had the chance to speak with Leap! Executive Director Drew Vamosi and Spotlight Dance Cup CEO Michelle Webb on the brand new acquisition.
Vamosi grew up in Nebraska, however ultimately made his option to Broadway. He was launched to the world of competitors dance as an adjudicator. Several individuals instructed he start his personal competitors, and thru a collection of occasions, BravO! Dance Competition was born, and in 2011, he began Leap! National Dance Competition.
Webb was “born with dance shoes on.” Her mom owned a dance studio, which Webb ran for a time earlier than working her personal studio in Colorado, after which shifting to California. There, she started a decade-long banking profession. Eventually, her household moved again to Idaho, and Webb desired to return to the humanities however needed higher flexibility than typical studio hours supply. Spotlight Dance Cup’s first tour started in 1996.
Webb’s banking expertise gives her a novel perspective on the dance world. “I gained a lot of business knowledge in banking. At the time, there were many mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry of which I was heavily involved, so I understand a lot about the due diligence process and have a deep financial knowledge. Being able to combine the left and right sides of my brain in this industry has been awesome!”
Webb and Vamosi’s relationship started about 15 years in the past by way of the Federation of Dance Competitions (FDC). Both have super respect for the opposite and the strengths every one brings to the desk.
In 2017, Vamosi suffered a significant coronary heart assault. At that time, he thought-about promoting, however the provides had been undesirable. In February 2021, Vamosi had one other well being scare and shared a message on Facebook about it. He shares, “Michelle saw it and reached out. She said, ‘I want to talk to you about an exit strategy.’ I said, ‘okay’, but I wasn’t ready to leave the business just yet. She said, ‘You can leave on your terms, when you’re ready.’”
Webb provides, “Behind the scenes, Spotlight had been doing research into potential companies to acquire. We were looking at companies that were a little smaller, in a region we weren’t yet fully tapped into. Then the opportunity with Drew presented itself. Because we had a personal relationship, and he was needing a succession plan, I felt like the opportunity to cross-market was there. Also, I’ve seen his competition, he’s seen mine, and from a client perspective, I think they’re quite similar.”
Ultimately, Spotlight’s acquisition of Leap! was pushed by a progress technique for Spotlight, in addition to the necessity for an exit plan for Vamosi. For him, promoting was unappealing, because it posed the danger of not discovering a purchaser, and left room for questions concerning the firm’s future.
However, Webb had already crossed that bridge and shares, “At the end of 2017, I was very close to selling the company to a private equity firm. I had gone through months of due diligence, had an Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement in place, but made a last-minute decision not to sell for several reasons, but mostly out of concern for my numerous employees who had been with Spotlight for 10, 15 and even over 20 years. Meanwhile, I had explored an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In January 2019, I sold the company to an ESOP trust. This allowed me the opportunity to choose the time to exit, while still having the financial transaction ironed out. I’m still the president and CEO of the organization, but in essence this is an employee-owned company.”
But what precisely is an ESOP? Webb explains, “It functions like a retirement plan; however, in an ESOP, there’s no employee contribution outside of their time and labor. After an employee’s first year, if they work at least 500 hours or more annually, they qualify to receive a share allocation based on their annual income, of which they vest over a period of six years. As the value of the company grows, so does the value of the employees’ shares. The longer the employee stays with the company, the more shares the employee earns, proving to be an extremely valuable retirement account.”
Both Vamosi and Webb agree that regardless of the mindset shift, an ESOP gives super payoff for these concerned. Vamosi says, “A lot of people who start companies think, ‘Why would I want my employees to own it?’ It depends on what you’re trying to do. Do you want to leave a legacy? What about your employees? What’s going to happen to them? In an ESOP, the employees who run it…own it. As much as you help it to profit, it helps you.”
The acquisition closed in October, so the 2 corporations are knee-deep within the integration course of. “Everything can’t happen overnight. It’s one step at a time. What can we accomplish now? Six months from now? A year from now? A full integration will probably be at least two years,” shares Webb.
Both have excessive hopes for this upcoming season and envision the profit to dancers from the becoming a member of of those two forces. “If Leap! is good, and people have enjoyed it, it’s now expanding. There’s now an opportunity for more people to see Leap!” shares Vamosi. Webb provides, “It gives Spotlight dancers peace of mind knowing they’ll get that same quality experience attending a Leap! event and vice versa.” Amongst the consumer alternatives within the crossover, Leap! rivals can now qualify to take part at any of Spotlight’s three nationwide occasions in the summertime.
Despite many particulars to iron out, Webb and Vamosi are excited for the following chapter. “I’m most excited to see how our companies grow and become more fully integrated as one organization with two unique brands, and for the launch of the expanded 2024 Leap! and Spotlight tours!” Webb shares.
Vamosi provides, “I’m excited that we grew so much and we’re going to see so many people. Because it’s an ESOP now, I’m allowing greater opportunity for my team at Leap!, and I’m excited about that.”
Leaving a legacy is a aim that Webb and Vamosi share, and it’s clear each are already doing so. “I enjoy the business side and developing relationships. It’s fun to watch someone from the time they’re five years old and then they grow up and have a career on Broadway, become the studio owner, or are successful in any career they choose,” Webb says.
“If you’re in it long enough, you start to have those special moments,” Vamosi provides. “That’s why you don’t want to close-up shop so early. There’s more to come that you can’t know until the years have gone by.”
After weathering a season of nice uncertainty in 2020, Vamosi and Webb have a brand new fireplace beneath them as they soar into the brand new 12 months. Vamosi shares, “There are times that people, me included, might be apprehensive about pulling it all off, but at the end of the day when the curtain goes up, it doesn’t matter. The show begins!”
Visit leapcompetition.com and spotlightevents.com for all of the 2023 tour particulars.
By Melody McTier of Dance Informa.
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