Back in 2017, Kevin King was looking to retire from ABS Payroll, the company he founded in 1985 to service independent productions, and hand the business off to his son Kris. He invited BondIt Media Capital co-founders Matthew Helderman (above, left) and Luke Taylor (above, right) to lunch. Their production company Buffalo8 had been an ABS client, and when the duo launched BondIt in 2013, the King family participated in its first round of financing. Now, King was offering BondIt the opportunity to return the favor and invest in ABS.
Kris was running the day-to-day, and his father wanted him to be surrounded with executive-level or MBA-minded support, as opposed to a scenario where he hired an investment bank and sold the business, and his son would likely be pushed out, says Helderman.
BondIt subsequently acquired a 49% stake in ABS in 2018, providing Kris King with a secure perch from which to run the company, as well as a cash infusion that enabled the company to step up its game.
Previously, we were servicing budgets as high as $1 million or $2 million, if we were lucky, says King, who had joined ABS as a payroll coordinator in 2006 and now holds the title of president. When [BondIt] got involved, they were able to catapult us into the $5 million to $10 million budget ranges.
ABS also expanded its services, launching a residual payroll platform in partnership with rights management company Freeway Entertainment and its proprietary digital onboarding and timecard technology.
The companys growing reach, as well as its proven ability to serve a variety of market niches including TV pilots, commercials, shorts and sizzle reels, video game productions and live events ranging from theme park and cruise ship performances to concerts attracted the interest of Venture Employer Services, an Arizona-based company focused on small and medium-sized businesses that processes upwards of $16.8 billion in payroll annually.
In October 2022, Venture purchased an 80% equity stake in ABS, retaining Kris King as president and Helderman and Taylor as executive directors.