How BTS' reset positioned it for external investment

BTS Software Solutions opened for business in 2009 and found some early success with its software offering to help the Army enable data flows while in-theater.

Then like a lot of contractors in the market, BTS had to find its bearings again and lay out a new pathway for itself after the early 2010s period of sequestration.

Intelligence, operations, counter-unmanned aerial systems technologies, cybersecurity and data science now are the cornerstones of BTS’ strategy after a period of reinvention and rebuilding.

For BTS, confirmation it was on the right path came in the form of an intelligence solutions contract awarded in 2023 to the GLICON joint venture also involving Realm One (formerly iNovex).

“The rest of the company continued to grow as well in building the back office, building the capacity and infrastructure. That was our big level step up,” BTS’ chief executive David Tohn told WT.

Tohn arrived at BTS in 2014, three years after Dan Cummings started as the company’s chief operating officer to help stabilize the business and shape the turnaround effort.

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Cummings focused much of his time and attention on creating the needed structure and capacity, while Tohn concentrated on getting key relationships in place so BTS could compete in the market.

Of course, undertaking the next step up in the market often requires an assist via external capital to fuel those efforts. Blue Delta Capital Partners has become that partner for BTS through a venture investment that apparently was years in the making.

But the first meeting between Tohn and Kevin Robbins, co-founder of Blue Delta, turned out to be free advice from Robbins on how to be ready for an investor like this one.

“We checked back in 90-120 days later, they followed our recommendation to a tee and to great success, and so we got back into talking about if there is still an interest or not,” Robbins said. “The more we got to know the company over 18 months, the more it felt really comfortable to us.”

With Blue Delta’s in place, Tohn described BTS as now wanting to go after technology work that brings “so much competency and capability to it that one of the bigs would be nervous.”

Growing too fast has always been on the front of Tohn’s mind in the 11 years he has led BTS.

“We were very concerned about catastrophic success if we won a big prime and it crushed us while we were absorbing this large transition,” Tohn said. “The other half of the company grew as well, which validates the work that Dan had done and the capacity of the company to grow where we want it. We have all the functions now, we’re just adding more muscle to it.”

Counter-UAS is one of those areas that BTS is looking to do more in, and particularly in the realm of software and sensors focused on detection and early warning. Tohn described the Defense and Homeland Security departments as key customers for BTS in this realm.

A second term Tohn used to explain BTS’ focus is “left of launch,” meaning pre-emptive actions to disrupt or neutralize an adversaries’ ability to send a missile or drone before it is deployed.

Given Tohn’s background as a retired military officer who was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, he drew an analogy to how forces there sought to counter improvised explosive devices in the field.

“Going after just the effects-based approach to countering UAS is whack-a-mole, they’ll always be overwhelmed,” Tohn said. “The way we went after IEDs was to defeat the network, understand the supply chain and get at it earlier so you can get a wholesale approach to protection.”

Tidelock Partners, Next-Stage Partners, Miles & Stockbridge BDO, RSM and Aprio. Blue Delta was assisted by Holland & Knight.