One Founder's Second Act in Hollywood

How VSS Capital Partners helped GreenSlate become the go-to payroll software provider for film and TV productions.

- SAM BLUM

John Finn was working as an accountant in Syracuse, New York, when he decided he needed a change. A fan of films (The Godfather and The Sting are favorites), Finn moved to New York City, where he freelanced on movie sets before founding GreenSlate, an entertainment payroll and accounting company.

By 2017, Finn had moved GreenSlate to Los Angeles and had offers from several private equity firms, most of which wanted to acquire a majority stake in his company. Finn didn't want to give up control, but needed capital to accelerate growth.

"I had some debt that I could have paid off, there were some software acquisitions we were looking to do, and it just seemed to be the right time," Finn says.