Entrepreneur behind $175 million business joins investment bank

TAMPA — Prominent area entrepreneur Barry Shevlin, who helped build Clearwater-based Vology into a $175 million IT services business, has joined the leadership team at investment banking firm Skyway Capital Markets.

Shevlin was named senior managing director of the firm, according to a statement, where he will lead Skyway Capital Markets Technology practice for the middle-market sector. In that role, Shevlin will identify and facilitate customized financial solutions, including restructuring advice, capital raising (debt and equity) and mergers and acquisitions, the release states.

Shevlin founded Vology in Palm Harbor, Florida in 2002. The company was then named Network Liquidators, and grew rapidly buying and reselling used networking equipment and phones. The company, in shifting to IT services, grew from $1 million a year in revenue to $175 million by 2016. It did $135 million in revenue in 2018.

Over his career, Shevlin has also completed over $250 million in capital transactions with institutions including private equity, family offices, syndicated bank groups and subordinated debt providers. That experience helped guide his decision to shift into investment banking, the release states.

“I’m extremely proud of what we have accomplished at Vology and leave behind a wonderful, innovative team to carry on creating unique business solutions for their customers,” says Shevlin in the statement. “I’m also excited about this next chapter of my career. I believe there are a number of mid-market technology companies who will benefit from my experience and approach to identifying creative financial solutions. There is no one size fits all in the technology industry and we are all beginning to understand that more clearly as the long-term impacts from the public health pandemic are still virtually uncertain.” 

Shevlin is s a vocal advocate for entrepreneurship and education. He was named the Business Observer’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008, the Tampa Bay Technology Forum’s CEO of the Year in 2012 and was an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2014. He also served on the Tampa Bay Partnership’s Council of Governors from 2016 to 2020 and has been an active member of YPO since 2007, the release states.

He joins Skyway Capital Markets while the firm, which represents private business owners seeking to exit, transition, or accelerate the growth of their business, is going through a growth spurt. The company posted $17.46 million in revenue in 2019, up 118.5% from $7.99 million in 2017.

“Barry is a serial entrepreneur and respected visionary who knows how to adapt and capitalize on emerging trends and markets to help businesses grow,” Skyway CEO Russ Hunt says in the release. “His success with capital transactions speak for themselves and I’m confident our technology practice will thrive under his leadership.”