The CSIS Tuck-in Story
Knowing When You're Ready and Finding the Right Fit
For more than 30 years, Complete Sentient Information Systems (CSIS) has been one of the most established IT firms in Ontario’s Durham Region. Founded in 1994 in Oshawa, CSIS grew from two friends selling PCs into a full IT Service Provider, earning referrals into many of the region’s leading businesses. Those early customers, and the long-tenured team that served them, still form the core of the business today. When founder Grant Schofield began planning his succession, price was not the only factor. He had already received an offer he liked, but he did not connect with the people behind it. He wanted a partner who genuinely cared about his team and would carry the business forward with the same care he had. To achieve his goal, Grant chose AYCE.
Q&A with Grant, CSIS Founder
1. How did your business start, and what's the history of CSIS?
Our business started when I was still in school, with a friend, largely just selling PCs. This was at the end of the personal computing boom, just as computers started to be networked and PCs started moving into businesses. We were fortunate that two of our earliest customers were one of the largest lawyers in our area and one of the largest accountants. Those two customers referred us into many of the leading businesses in Durham Region, and those customers still form the core of our business over 20 years later.
2. What drew you to working with AYCE?
We were actually approached by another company, and they offered a deal we liked, but we didn’t connect with their people. We went looking for other companies and found AYCE, who we immediately felt good about. You could tell that Philip truly cared about the people. They were willing to do essentially the same deal and I am very happy that is the way we went.
3. How have TAG and Dougun’s team continued to carry on the tradition of your company?
All the long-term employees I built the company with are still there, as well as the majority of the core customers. I am very happy about this. So, in some ways very little has changed, and in other ways a lot has changed in the last three years. Change was needed, but it is nice to see so many familiar things still there.
4. What's one thing you'd tell yourself before this process started?
Be sure you are ready. But if you are sure, the sooner you start the better.
5. How long did it take to find the right fit?
My original plan was to try to pass the business to my employees, but there was not a lot of interest. I then tried to hire someone I could mentor to take over the business, but after a couple of attempts at this, five or six years had passed and I had really made no progress. From the time I decided selling was the right course of action, it only took about a year, but I think I was likely lucky in this.
6. What would you say to the owner who’s putting off succession planning?
There is risk in staying too long. From the time I decided to sell until the end wasn’t the most hours I ever worked, or even the hardest I ever worked, but in some ways it was the most demanding. You don’t want to wait until your energy or your desire to be there is so far gone that it just isn’t winning conditions for you to have an exit you can feel good about.
