#213: She Took on a Growth Equity Partner for the Advice, Not the Money - Lynn Burghardt

Lynn Burghardt is a fifth-generation owner of Burghardt Sporting Goods — the oldest family-owned sporting goods store in the country, founded in 1881. Chipply grew out of that business: after years of hacking together their own tools for team apparel orders, Lynn and two brothers built the software solution the decorated-apparel industry didn't have, funded by a $250,000 angel check from their father, Chip.

Chipply is e-commerce software for decorated apparel, the custom team stores where players, parents, and fans order their own gear online. Started in 2015 and selling since 2018, it now powers about 1,500 active dealers, processing around $250 million in gross merchandise value this year at about $10 million in revenue, growing 35%. All with 50 employees.

Chipply charges a percentage of sales, "when they win, we win," and is now adding Chipply One to become run-your-business software for its dealers. Three years ago Lynn took growth equity from Growth Street Partners, not for the money but for the advice to scale up: adding the right senior leaders and structuring the business foundations, with a hands-on partner who engages every week while leaving control in the founders' hands.

Key Takeaways

• Keep Control: The deal preserved control of the product and the board for the founders.
• Win-Win Pricing: Chipply prices on a percentage of merchandise value, so incentives stay aligned.
• Scratch Your Own Itch: The best first customer was their own 145-year-old sporting goods business.
• Just Do It: Trust yourself sooner and take the risk faster.
• Vertical Depth: Decorated apparel is too complicated for generic tools like Shopify to serve.

Quote from Lynn Burghardt, President of Chipply

"Getting a good value for the business mattered, and so did what we were willing to give up to gain the right partner. But the decision was really about advice and expertise.

"It was about putting people in the right seats — on our board and in our business model — to help us take it to the next level. How do we find the perfect sales leader, the perfect engineering leader who can build exactly what we envision?

"That would relieve the pressure on me, our CEO, and the grassroots people who'd been running the business. We were spread too thin, and when we met Steve and Nate at Growth Street Partners, it was just a perfect fit — they gave us the autonomy we wanted."

Links

• Chipply on LinkedIn
• Chipply website
• Growth Street Partners (growth equity investor)

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