Company president Tony Cortinas co-founded Marathon in 2006.
An IT consulting and marketing firm headquartered in Virginia Beach is taking a dive inland with an acquisition of a Richmond-area peer.
In a deal that sparked last fall and finalized May 1, Marathon Consulting acquired Henrico-based SQL Data Partners, a database management firm in Highland Springs.
The two companies’ leaders, Tony Cortinas of Marathon and Carlos Chacon of SQL, knew each other for years beforehand, having met at industry conferences and events. Chacon eventually pitched the idea of an acquisition.
“When I got in the mind to sell, I actually felt comfortable enough with them to kind of approach them with the idea and ask them if they were interested,” Chacon said. “Scaling is hard, and I had hit a certain level and I couldn’t quite get to the next level. … Marathon really helps with that.”
SQL, which specializes in Microsoft’s data platform, adds data management services to Marathon’s repertoire and brought 15 clients and 10 other projects along with it. Chacon and about 10 of his contractors and consultants have moved over to Marathon, with Chacon sliding into a new role as director of data solutions.
He said the clients he’s carried over are working with the same consultants as before while also branching out to use Marathon’s other services, such as digital marketing.
Carlos Chacon
The SQL brand has been absorbed into Marathon, save for the SQL Data Partners Podcast, which Chacon hosts. The podcast focuses on the Microsoft data platform and related topics.
This is Marathon’s first acquisition, Cortinas said, and expands the firm’s Richmond presence after it opened an office in the area a few years ago. Marathon has served more than 500 clients in its 17 years, averaging 150-200 annually, and has worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies.
Cortinas projects nearly $17 million in revenue for his firm this year with the SQL deal, up from just over $15 million last year. Financial specifics of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Although the deal is monetarily beneficial, Cortinas said he was driven more by Chacon’s work and the company he’d built.
“[The numbers] look favorable as well, but I think it was really about Carlos,” Cortinas said. “His skills, his knowledge, his personality, the team that he’s put together, was something that really pushed it over for us and made it even that much more attractive.”
Cortinas didn’t discount SQL’s location, saying if Chacon was based elsewhere, the deal wouldn’t have been as attractive. The acquisition builds onto a years-long mission from Marathon to expand in the Richmond market, something the firm has hit the gas pedal on this year.
As for the future, Cortinas said Marathon isn’t setting out to buy other companies but is keeping its options open. He said his company plans to keep chugging along, applying the same strategies and services in its expanded capacity as it does in its headquarters on the coast.
“I think we’re really just looking to take our model that’s been very successful in this market and then apply it to the Richmond market and take off,” he said.
Company president Tony Cortinas co-founded Marathon in 2006.
An IT consulting and marketing firm headquartered in Virginia Beach is taking a dive inland with an acquisition of a Richmond-area peer.
In a deal that sparked last fall and finalized May 1, Marathon Consulting acquired Henrico-based SQL Data Partners, a database management firm in Highland Springs.
The two companies’ leaders, Tony Cortinas of Marathon and Carlos Chacon of SQL, knew each other for years beforehand, having met at industry conferences and events. Chacon eventually pitched the idea of an acquisition.
“When I got in the mind to sell, I actually felt comfortable enough with them to kind of approach them with the idea and ask them if they were interested,” Chacon said. “Scaling is hard, and I had hit a certain level and I couldn’t quite get to the next level. … Marathon really helps with that.”
SQL, which specializes in Microsoft’s data platform, adds data management services to Marathon’s repertoire and brought 15 clients and 10 other projects along with it. Chacon and about 10 of his contractors and consultants have moved over to Marathon, with Chacon sliding into a new role as director of data solutions.
He said the clients he’s carried over are working with the same consultants as before while also branching out to use Marathon’s other services, such as digital marketing.
Carlos Chacon
The SQL brand has been absorbed into Marathon, save for the SQL Data Partners Podcast, which Chacon hosts. The podcast focuses on the Microsoft data platform and related topics.
This is Marathon’s first acquisition, Cortinas said, and expands the firm’s Richmond presence after it opened an office in the area a few years ago. Marathon has served more than 500 clients in its 17 years, averaging 150-200 annually, and has worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies.
Cortinas projects nearly $17 million in revenue for his firm this year with the SQL deal, up from just over $15 million last year. Financial specifics of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Although the deal is monetarily beneficial, Cortinas said he was driven more by Chacon’s work and the company he’d built.
“[The numbers] look favorable as well, but I think it was really about Carlos,” Cortinas said. “His skills, his knowledge, his personality, the team that he’s put together, was something that really pushed it over for us and made it even that much more attractive.”
Cortinas didn’t discount SQL’s location, saying if Chacon was based elsewhere, the deal wouldn’t have been as attractive. The acquisition builds onto a years-long mission from Marathon to expand in the Richmond market, something the firm has hit the gas pedal on this year.
As for the future, Cortinas said Marathon isn’t setting out to buy other companies but is keeping its options open. He said his company plans to keep chugging along, applying the same strategies and services in its expanded capacity as it does in its headquarters on the coast.
“I think we’re really just looking to take our model that’s been very successful in this market and then apply it to the Richmond market and take off,” he said.