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External Partners Alumni Search Submit Return to home Search Search About About Olin Home Why Olin Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Leadership & Strategy News & Media Events Contact Us Programs Programs Home Explore Our Programs BS in Business Administration MBAs Specialized Master's Doctoral Executive Education Dual Degrees Faculty & Research Faculty & Research Home Faculty Directory Research Research Centers Olin Brookings Commission Olin Award Student Resources Student Resources Home Career Services Center for Experiential Learning Entrepreneurship Academic Calendars Student Organizations For Current Students For Military Veterans Admissions Admissions Home Scholarships & Aid Attend Program Events Visit Olin Ask a Student Student Profiles Request Information Refer a Candidate External Partners Alumni Olin entrepreneurship chief sells company he co-founded in 2007 for $30M January 20, 2021 By Kurt Greenbaum 2 minute read Doug Villhard on stage at one of Second Street’s annual customer summits Home News Olin entrepreneurship chief sells company he co-founded in 2007 for $30M Doug Villhard, EMBA &＃8217;14, academic director for WashU Olin&＃8217;s entrepreneurship platform, announced today the $30 million sale and acquisition of the startup he co-founded in 2007. St. Louis-based&＃160;Second Street, co-founded with Matt Coen, gives publishers and other clients the capacity to provide contests, interactive content and emails to grow revenue, database and engagement. The company has more than 500 clients, including news publisher Gannett, the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network and WGN-TV in Chicago. According to&＃160;a news release today, Upland Software, which provides cloud-based tools for digital transformation, agreed to acquire Second Street for $25.4 million in cash at closing (net of cash acquired), paid out of cash on hand, and a $5 million cash holdback payable in 12 months. &＃8220;At Olin, I teach students to first &＃8216;fall in love with the customer&＃8217;s problem,'&＃8221; said&＃160;Villhard, who is also professor of practice in entrepreneurship. &＃8220;If you get that right, it can lead to amazing things.&＃8221; Villhard said he worked on growing Second Street at the same time he was working on his MBA. &＃8220;Every class I took I applied it to the company I was growing.&＃8221; he said. &＃8220;Our customers&＃8217; business is only going to accelerate with Upland, which is tremendously gratifying for all of us who have been involved over the past 14 years in building such a special product,&＃8221; Villhard said in&＃160;a blog post on Upland&＃8217;s website, co-founder and president of Second Street. Other highlights from Upland&＃8217;s announcement of the acquisition: &＃8220;Our customers need to deliver content experiences consumers enjoy interacting with and benefit from,&＃8221; said Jack McDonald, chairman and CEO of Upland (which is publicly traded on Nasdaq: UPLD). &＃8220;Contests and interactive content are a proven and effective way to engage, attract, and retain consumers, and Second Street delivers this at scale.&＃8221; Upland expects the acquisition to generate annual revenue of approximately $9.4 million, of which all is recurring. The Upland Cloud enables thousands of organizations to engage with customers on key digital channels, optimize sales team performance, manage projects and IT costs, and automate critical document workflows. Villhard is also a partner with his brother in Villhard Growth Partners, a private equity firm that invests in, partners with and grows strong, tech-enabled business and healthcare services companies. He has been involved in the launch and operation of two other startups. And he started Father McGivney Catholic High School in Glen Carbon, Illinois. Pictured above: Doug Villhard on stage at one of Second Street&＃8217;s annual customer summits (photo courtesy Doug Villhard). About the Author Kurt Greenbaum As communications director for WashU Olin Business School, my job is to find and share great stories about our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. I've worked for the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management as communications director and as a journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sun-Sentinel in South Florida and the Chicago Tribune. Contact Us For assistance in finding faculty experts, please contact Washington University Public Affairs. Monday&＃8211;Friday, 8:30 to 5 p.m. Sara Savat, Senior News Director, Business and Social [email protected] &＃160; Kurt Greenbaum,Communications [email protected] Twitter: WUSTLnews Share article Apply Now Visit Us Request Info One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 [email protected] 314-935-7301 News & Media Events Faculty Directory WashU Center for Career Engagement Washington University home Olin Links Sitemap Privacy Policies Title IX Accessibility ©2024 Washington University in St. Louis