Not too long ago Matt Culbreth introduced me to Jonathan LaCour, the CTO of ShootQ. Shortly thereafter I met with Jonathan and the rest of the founding team, Andrew Nieson and Rachel LaCour Nieson, down at HobNob for about a 90 minute get to know you session. Despite, or perhaps because of, the intertwined last names I really enjoyed the discussion with the team.  Most likely because I really like to take pictures and it was clear from the conversation that the team had a strong passion for photography.

Long ago Andrew and Rachel were professional photogs that had a problem.  The problem was not their pictures.  The problem was the business side of taking pictures.  And they set out to solve it.  In 2007 ShootQ was launched with the aim to liberate photographers from the tedious side of their business.  I am not doing it justice, but it is essentially a photographer workflow management web app.

Fast forward to our little meeting.  ShootQ was growing.  Since 2007 they had created a nice business and they were at a juncture where they needed some cash to do the things they wanted to do.  Shortly after we met ShootQ started having some serious discussions with a company called Pictage, a powerhouse in the professional photography space. Today they announced a deal.  I advised Andrew and Rachel along the way.  I think it is a good deal for them.  While the official press release does not talk about price, it gives them a good exit and the resources they need to build out their platform.  

It's great to see these types of deals. Self funded with efficient and significant exits for the founders.  The ShootQ team is going to be staying in Decatur and I expect that this deal will not be the last we hear from the LaCour Nieson trio.

Congrats to the entire ShootQ team.   When thing settle down we need to grab another pint.  You buy.