Clarity SSU
Founding Story
“I spent 18 years in corporate America, leading sales, marketing and operations teams at global Fortune 500 companies. I learned a lot, but I wanted to build something of my own, where I could have a bigger influence on the people in my organization. I was, and still am, a big believer in the American Dream, so I started a small business consulting firm and began my journey as an entrepreneur.
A few years in, one of my large consulting clients needed a digital strategy. That project became our first introduction to commercial low voltage, under the original brand of Ponto Solutions. Our focus started with AV, but customers soon asked us for other low-voltage solutions, including our first security installation, where we secured all lines of low voltage for a large sports facility and concert venue.
As the business grew, we saw that many of the same customers needed security, and that security needed a different value proposition than general commercial low voltage. So about six years ago, we spun off Ponto’s security division into its own brand: Clarity SSU. That carve-out is what allowed the company to grow and expand at a much faster pace. Today, Clarity serves multi-site enterprise customers across the United States.
My goal all along was to build a family-based culture where every employee felt like they were participating in the growth of the business. I wanted everyone to feel the excitement and stability of the company’s growth strategy.
As we grew, I worked closely with Alex Petrou to make sure he would be ready to step into the CEO role when the time came. After five consecutive years of record-breaking growth, I felt the time was right. The company had grown to a point where it needed significant capital investment to ensure stability and provide scalable, sustainable growth at our current pace. That is what led me to the conclusion it was time to step aside and let the right partner take the company to the next level.”
Why Cobalt
“Cobalt’s approach was different from any other company’s. I was first approached by Cobalt over two years ago, when they initially expressed interest. That gave me the time to really get to know the company before making a commitment to sell.
I did look at other options in the open market, and a significant number of companies expressed serious interest in acquiring my company. However, none of them were like Cobalt. The objective Cobalt laid out looked like it was taken right out of my strategic plan, and their belief in and approach to acquiring a company matched my expectations perfectly.
This provided a platform for Alex Petrou to continue building the company the same way as our new CEO. Our employees immediately felt a big sense of comfort and excitement about this new opportunity, and that excitement continues to this day. Cobalt not only respected the culture we built, they have protected a business model that has proven over and over again to work great!
Along with this strategy comes an entirely new network of partners across the country, more opportunity for growth for our employees and the financial backing of our new owners. I’m confident this is the best outcome for the future of the company and our employees.”
— Matt Abbrederis, Founder