CVCA New Member Profile: MonogramGroup

Our series profiling CVCA’s new members continues, providing insight into the organizations in our community.

We’re thrilled to profile a new CVCA member, MonogramGroup.

Over the last 30 years, MonogramGroup has provided award-winning strategy, brand, and go-to-market services for 90+ PE clients and 40+ portfolio companies in the U.S. and Canada. They’re excited to now have a full-time presence in Canada. MonogramGroup’s journey in PE started in 1996, when they built and launched the Antares Capital brand. Since then they’ve worked with sponsors, lenders, large family offices and consultants, and have conducted more than 500 research interviews with industry stakeholders including sellers, I bankers, LPs and hired executives as part of strategic engagements for clients.

Tell us about MonogramGroup

MonogramGroup is based in Chicago, with key personnel in Toronto, Charlotte and Colorado. We provide strategy, brand creative, marketing, and sales enablement to both PE firms and their portfolio companies. After 30 years serving the PE market, our experience and knowledge in the sector is second to none. We love the work, and our nuanced understanding of sponsor priorities and their investment goals helps us deliver substantial strategic value. 

Our PE services include due diligence, brand, messaging, digital, ongoing communications and social, and presentation collateral. We also serve the entire portfolio company lifecycle, from pre-close diligence through the hold years to packaging for exit at higher multiples. 

We have deep experience (and IP) in brand architecture determination during platform add-on and roll up situations. Much of what we do is also applicable to VC and their portfolios, a sector we’re seeing more engagement from recently. 

The Podcast

We have an ongoing, PE-focused podcast called Beer Stories for Private Equity. We just published Episode 20 and have had a series of excellent industry guests since launching. We are absolutely looking to highlight Canadian voices and perspectives on the show moving forward. Please drop us a line if you’re interested.

Who are the key people at MonogramGroup?

Geoff Hays is our Senior Director, Client Success based in Toronto. With 25 years of experience guiding Fortune 500 and mid-market companies, he specializes in digital brand leadership, customer experience, and long-term strategic partnerships with his clients. Geoff has led major digital brand initiatives across North America and EMEA, including the multi-country launch of FedEx’s web experience and long-term engagements with Merck, Wyndham Hotel Group, and Avis Budget. For the last 17 years, he has held directorship roles in agencies focused on digital strategy and applications, and has been involved with the innovation community in Ontario and multiple SaaS initiatives. He is looking forward to meeting many of you at CVCA events.

Scott Markman founded MonogramGroup 36 years ago, and is our President. He is a brand strategy expert with nearly 45 years of experience across consumer, B2B and nonprofit sectors. He has lectured globally on branding and marketing, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNBC, Pensions & Investments. He has a BFA in Design and a Marketing Minor from Washington University. He got his start in PE by creating the Antares Capital brand in 1996, and hasn’t looked back. 

What is MonogramGroup excited about?

First and foremost, we’re excited to have a presence in Canada. 

We’ve done projects here before, but now have a full-time representative and are looking forward to working with more Canadian PE and portfolio company stakeholders. We think we’re a great cultural fit for the Canadian market as a team, and believe that 2025, in particular, is both an excellent and important time for increased emphasis on cross-border collaboration, shared values and shared successes. 

Also, we’ve recently launched a truly innovative Brand, Sales & Marketing Diligence service. At the LOI stage, we audit the platform brand(s) and competitors, their current sales & GTM landscape, SEO & PPC, cross-sell and upsell opportunities, and current brand architecture. The resulting report findings include a value creation and rev-gen scorecard, specific GTM and sales optimization opportunities, recommendations for a go-forward brand architecture, and a First 100 Days roadmap. This service provides a new, strategic upside-opportunities input to deal construction and planning – an offering that we believe is tailored for the 2025 landscape.