Without Nickels And Dimes

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Bourgeois Fils & Co. invests substantial amounts of time evaluating management and market prospects before deciding to take on new clients. But what keeps the dynamic young investment firm humming are its capital-raising and management services for the some 15 businesses already on its client roster.

The level of activity within its Exeter, N.H., headquarters is reflected in the surging volume of deals Bourgeois Fils has promoted. During the first six months of 1983, the firm sold nearly $6 million worth of partnerships for companies -- half of which had done prior financings -- compared with $3 million for all of 1982 and $750,000 for 1981.

For a typical limited partnership, Bourgeois Fils looks for 20 to 30 investors willing to put up $10,000 to $20,000 apiece. While the prospects, mostly professionals and entrepreneurs on the East and West Coasts, are found through a network of accountants and financial planners, the complex nature of the deals makes them difficult to sell without a great deal of explanation of their tax and income features. "It's not uncommon to spend up to 10 hours on the phone and in person with one investor," notes Bert Bourgeois. Fortunately, he says, nearly half of the 250 partners the investment firm has recruited to date end up putting money in subsequent partnerships in which less selling is required. For debt financing, meanwhile, Bourgeois Fils cultivates relationships with major regional banks around the country.

In its role as off-site chief financial officer, Bourgeois Fils performs a variety of financial services for client businesses, including basic record-keeping, billing, and cash management. To carry out these functions, the firm relies heavily on its Data General Nova minicomputer, which has already become inadequate for the firm's needs. Almost daily, moreover, Bourgeois Fils employees communicate with clients by phone, generating bills of upwards of $5,000 per month.

In keeping with Bourgeois's approach to his business, neither telephone expenses nor other costs are ever directly billed to clients. Since the payoff Bourgeois looks forward to comes with the fees for syndicating future financings, managing partrierships, and even business activity, "we don't want to put things on a nickel-and-dime basis," he says. The no-billing policy even extends to larger expenses such as airline tickets and lodging. "We want our clients to know we're willing to do whatever's required to make things work out, and that we'll even pay our own way," he explains.

For some business trips, however, Bourgeois and his associates have no need for hotels. As houseguests of clients, they not only keep travel costs down but also foster the kind of personal bonds that Bourgeois thinks are important to the success of his business. "Bert has become a friend of my whole family," says Mike Koether, president of Infincom Inc., who hosts Bourgeois and others from the firm when they visit Phoenix. "And even though I've technically hired him to work for me, we're really in business together. I want to do well, but I also don't want to disappoint him."