Through growth, public offerings and specialization in the software sector, Don Wharton has made numerous successful investments and amassed a large portfolio of private holdings.
Starting and Growing ParetoLogic
Don Wharton’s business career began in 2004 with the establishment of ParetoLogic, a software company that Wharton co-founded with brothers-in-law Elton, Myron and Adrian Pereira.
ParetoLogic debuted with an antispyware solution that removed unwanted spyware and adware, and it eventually grew to offer 20 different software products. These included file extension manager, parental control, website vulnerability detection, data recovery, device driver, antivirus and software updater applications. The Victoria, British Columbia-based company grew to have more than 100 onsite employees and another 30 remote workers in China, Ukraine and India.
After successfully establishing ParetoLogic’s core products, Don Wharton shifted his role to customer experience and acquisitions. He oversaw the improvement of customer satisfaction and made multiple investments in Software businesses. SecureVision, Constant Content and Tenebril were some of the more notable acquisitions.
Going Public With Internet Brands
In 2010, Don Wharton made a substantial public investment in Internet Brands. The company focused on purchasing private companies and rolling them into their publicly traded entity..
Internet Brands was successful enough that it was quickly purchased by venture capital firm Heilman and Friedman later in 2010. Wharton earned a 40 percent premium on his initial investment in the company.
Miscellaneous Investments in SaaS
From 2010 through 2015, Wharton made a slew of investments in various companies. These included Chatterblock, Tinymob Games, Social Nature and Travergence. During this time, many of the investments were in or close to British Columbia, and many of them were successful.
Founding of SureSwift Capital
Don Wharton further advanced his acquisitions and investments in 2015 by co-founding SureSwift Capital with Kevin McArdle. SureSwift began with the co-founders’ personal investments but quickly raised $10 million from three new investors and another $8 million in low-interest loans.
SureSwift Capital has thus far made more than 40 acquisitions and created two funds. PluginUseful, Feedback Panda, Jell, Docparser, Mailparser, Backinstock, TastersClub, FlyerHeros, Workbase, Hub, Storemapper, MysiteAuditor, TraderView, Crosssell, Wingman, Leaddyno and GrowthHero are some of the firm’s acquisitions. The company has a remote workforce of over 100 employees.
Continuing To Invest in Companies
Most recently, Don Wharton has continued to maintain an investor mentality both personally and through firms. He has made a personal investment in Elon Musk’s SpaceX. He is also still involved with SureSwift and has recently started Wharton Stevenson Technology Partners, Inc. The newest firm continues to make investments in private and public software companies.
