Couple sells Future POS
CENTER TWP — Owners of a Center Township business confirmed Wednesday they have sold their business, but the company and its jobs will remain in the area.
John and Kelly Giles, husband and wife, president and vice president and co-owners of Future POS, sold the business Oct. 6 for an undisclosed amount to Jared Isaacman, CEO of Harbortouch in Allentown, Lehigh County.
John founded Future POS in 1998. The company sells point of sale software, which is the interface used by cashiers at a variety of retail locations. Kelly pursued her own career before having children, after which she joined her husband in the business.
John said when he first started the company — which now has more than 15,000 total installations of its software — there were two sides in the industry, payment systems and POS systems, but the line between the two has faded over time.
“There's been a lot of consolidation in our industry,” he said. “It created tension between us and payment processing systems.”
John said more companies started combining the two, and he had plans to do the same with recent purchases of land. He said the goal was to develop the payment side of the business on the new properties, but instead, he received an offer.
Isaacman entered with interest in buying the company and a few of its competitors, according to John.
“Initially, I wasn't interested,” he said.
John said he made demands he thought would scare Isaacman away, stipulations like the company had to stay in Butler and their 60 employees needed to keep their jobs. He said Isaacman enthusiastically agreed, and soon his mind began to change.
Kelly said she too was skeptical at first because they knew very little about Isaacman other than he was well known for his hobby-company, Draken International, which trains U.S. Armed Forces for flying combat missions, in addition to his payment service success. She said after meeting Isaacman for the first time, she felt better about his promises. She said he also had a similar interest in supporting local communities.
“We are about the Butler people,” Kelly said. “We like to give back to our community, and he's on board with that.”
Kelly said she and her husband also found a common ground in their business strategies too, which also makes the sale a smart move to sustain the company in the future.
Future POS has around 90 resellers of its software around the country and an inside sales team, according to Kelly. She said the new ownership will give all of theses salespeople new fuel for their pitches.
“We have the backing now of large hands,” she said. “Our employees have really embraced this; our dealer network has really embraced this.”Kelly said the new ownership will also bring hardware sales into the mix, something they have never dealt with before. In addition to various softwares, Harbortouch sells credit card readers, POS terminals and cash registers.Kelly said the pairing would be another good selling point because people like to shop where they can get everything they need from one place.“It's like a perfect synergy,” Kelly said.To make sure that synergy works and to help with the transition, John and Kelly have signed three-year contracts to remain leaders of the company. John said their experience and relationship with the employees made the move essential.“(Isaacman) likes the autonomous nature of (our company),” he said.Kelly said their staff works like a machine right now, and they don't want to see it disrupted. She said the employees play games together, eat lunch together and do other activities outside the office. She said some of their employees even live together. She said she and her husband try to support that camaraderie.“There's a good vibe here,” Kelly said. “They work really hard for us because we take care of them.”John said the business will continue to support the community, not only through its jobs, but also because only the business itself was sold.The couple still own the building, which will be rented to the new owner, and land, including the undeveloped property, located near the Starlight Drive-In.He said he the property could be used for a few projects he has had in mind, one being an after-school program for children interested in technology. He said it would offer Butler the chance to develop the tech industry with future generations.“The other thing, too, is keeping bright kids in Butler,” he said.Kelly, who serves on many boards throughout the area, said it would be only one of many ways they would still want to continue helping their community.“We're still going to support the community like we always have,” she said.John and Kelly Giles said they may no longer own the company, but they still feel like, for now, it is home.“We're not going anywhere,” John said. “The jobs aren't going anywhere.”“We'll continue to grow,” Kelly said.
