Surefire Local Refinances, Expands Debt with Sunflower Bank

Michael Pierce

Surefire Local, an Austin, Texas-headquartered marketing firm with offices in Vienna, Va., has announced debt refinancing and expansion with Dallas, Texas-based Sunflower Bank. It did not specify the amount.

GenNext Media, the parent firm of Surefire Local, provides innovative marketing software for small and local businesses. So far, it has raised $14.6 million, according to Crunchbase.

“We’re humbled to partner with Sunflower as they continue to expand their SaaS portfolio, and we look forward to an incredible relationship in driving innovation together,” said Surefire Local CEO Michael Pierce, who assumed the position last July.

“This new funding means we can invest even more in our customers in 2024 and beyond, and we’ll be able to build on our customer experience while enhancing the ROI customers see using our platform,” Pierce added.

Pierce, who joined the company as chief revenue officer in 2020, succeeded Christopher Marentis, who was named executive chairman in a reshuffle last year. Before joining Surefire Local, Pierce was the CRO of Digital Pharmacist (acquired by K1 Investment Management). He has also held leadership positions at Main Street Hub (acquired by web hosting provider GoDaddy), and Austin’s SaaS start-up ProfitFuel (acquired by marketing startup Yodle).

Surefire said the deal with Sunflower Bank opens up exciting opportunities, including access to capital for growth initiatives and further financial stability. The company plans to use the funds to upgrade its all-in-one marketing platform and elevate customer experiences.

“Sunflower Bank’s ability to provide growth capital to SaaS/recurring-revenue companies puts us in a great position to support the significant tech industry in Austin and Central Texas,” said Donna Day, the bank’s president for Central Texas Regional Market. “We are grateful for Surefire Local’s confidence in our ability to deliver locally based SaaS expertise along with a wide range of other banking services.”

Surefire said its expertise in bringing new technologies at affordable prices aligns perfectly with Sunflower Bank’s commitment to innovation and customer-centric applications.