Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners Invests In Mobile Medical Help System

Megan Hendricks | Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners (SGEP) recently invested in MobileHelp, a leading provider of M-PERS, or Mobile-Personal Emergency Response System, technology based in Boca Raton.

A Tampa-based investment firm, SGEP focuses on growth stage companies that use technology to solve a business problem, concentrating on the Southeastern United States. The company typically invests $1M to $5M per company, allowing them to assist growing companies that might not meet the minimum funding requirements of larger investors.

SGEP Managing Partner Steven Lux moved to Tampa in 1999 to open an investment office of Bank One, which later became Stonehenge Capital Company and then SCEP. Lux and his team were looking for Florida-based companies to invest in, and chose Tampa because of the ease of travel to major cities across the state. Current investments include Dixie Southern, a custom steel fabricator in Bradenton, Health Integrated, a medical care management company in Tampa and Ottlite, a lighting company in Tampa.

MobileHelp was a natural fit for the firm’s focus on companies that use technology to meet a need or improve a product. The personal response system, which enables someone to contact a call center in the event medical assistance is needed, has been around for a long time. What differentiates MobileHelp’s product is the wireless component, allowing people to take the device anywhere they go. The device also has a GPS component which allows for constant tracking of the individual, as well as fall detection technology.

"We’re seeing a lot of companies that are able to advance and progress much further with lower amounts of capital than they would have five or six years ago because of the use of technology," says Lux. "It’s exciting to be in the Tampa Bay area. We continue to see good growth opportunities here."

Stonehenge currently has $40 million in capital under management and is looking to expand that to $65 - $70 million within the next 4 – 5 years.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Steven Lux, Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners

Read more articles by Megan Hendricks.

A Florida native and longtime Tampa Bay resident, Megan Hendricks graduated from the University of South Florida with a master's degree in business administration. She worked at the USF College of Business and has extensive community experience including the Tampa Bay Partnership's Talent Dividend Advisory Board, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Emerge Tampa Bay, Ekhos, and Bar Camp Tampa. She is a former board member and newsletter editor for Creative Tampa Bay. Megan enjoys telling the stories that make Tampa Bay a unique, diverse cultural experience.