2013 — Founding
Co-founded Gather
Launched a vertical SaaS platform for the events industry and scaled it from zero to $10M ARR, raising a Series A from Storm Ventures and Ludlow Ventures along the way.
Fractional CTO & C-Suite Advisory
Technology leadership for founders, from someone who has built and sold the company too.
Ampeer is the advisory practice of Tom Merrihew — co-founder, operator, and two-time scale story in vertical SaaS. The work is judgment under pressure: capital events, payments, reliability, and the decisions that move a company from product to platform.
$0 → $10M
Founded & scaled Gather to $10M ARR
$20M → $60M+
ARR growth as VP Eng & GM at Tripleseat
~$500M
Majority recapitalization, 10x+ to early investors
The operator lens
Not a vendor. A partner who has sat in the founder's seat.
Roughly 15 years building vertical SaaS for the SMB market — first as co-founder of Gather, then as VP Engineering and General Manager at Tripleseat after the two companies merged.
That path ran through a Series A raise, three acquisitions, a Vista Equity buyout, and a ~$500M General Atlantic recapitalization. The pattern matters more than the logos: I have made these calls with real money and real teams on the line.
Ampeer brings that lens to founder-led companies — outcomes over activity lists, trusted judgment over a service menu.
Track record
Two scale stories, one through-line.
The work has always been the same: take a product founders believe in and give it the technical foundation to become a durable business.
2017 — Capital Event
Acquired by Vista Equity Partners
Gather was acquired by Vista Equity Partners — a validation of the platform, the team, and the market thesis we had been building toward.
2020 — Merger
Merged with Tripleseat
Gather and Tripleseat merged. I moved into VP Engineering and GM, taking on the integration of acquisitions including EventUp, Attendease, and Merri.
2023 — Recapitalization
~$500M General Atlantic recap
Helped grow ARR from $20M to $60M+ through a majority recapitalization led by General Atlantic that returned 10x+ to early investors. Backers across the arc: Vista, General Atlantic, Level Equity, and Enlightened Hospitality Investments.
Engagement models
Three ways to work together.
Scoped to where you are — from a focused diagnostic to ongoing technical leadership.
Entry point
Diagnostic
A focused assessment of your technology, team, and readiness — surfacing the risks and opportunities a founder cannot always see from inside.
Ongoing
Fractional CTO
Embedded technical leadership on a part-time basis: architecture, hiring, roadmap, and the calls that need an operator's judgment.
Strategic
C-Suite Advisory
Trusted advisor to founders and boards through capital events, M&A, and the transition from product to platform.
Productized entry offer
The Pre-Diligence Readiness Scan
Before an investor or acquirer looks under the hood, find out what they will find. A fixed-scope assessment of the technical, organizational, and operational readiness that determines deal outcomes.
Request a scan →- 01 Architecture & technical debt review
- 02 Team & org structure assessment
- 03 Security, reliability & compliance posture
- 04 Payments & monetization readiness
- 05 A prioritized findings report you can act on
Let's talk
Considering a capital event, a platform shift, or your first technical hire?
The best engagements start with a conversation about where you are and where you are trying to go.
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