Founder Brian Rist

A Southwest Florida business that has blossomed over more than two decades will now be in new hands.  

Brian Rist, founder and chairman of Storm Smart, announced Tuesday the sale of a controlling interest in the company to Rotunda Capital Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm. Rist will retain a significant equity interest and continue to serve on the company’s board of directors, and John Boland will remain on as Storm Smart chief executive officer.  

As for the reason for the change, Rist, 66, said it was time to pursue a new venture in life geared more towards magnanimity, especially having to do with young entrepreneurs.  

“It’s been an amazing journey,” Rist said. “We grew to an incredible size — a size that I never ever dreamed that it would grow to. But now it’s time to maybe start a new chapter of my life, and I really have become more involved in the philanthropic side of the world as much as the business side of the world.” 

Rist, who founded the company in August of 1996 after experiencing Hurricane Andrew first-hand in 1992, said passing the baton better positions the Fort Myers-based company for expansion moving forward.  

“Storm Smart needed some different leadership that would allow it to really grow even further, and I felt that bringing an organization in that was really more geared to national growth than I was, I thought that was the best thing for the corporation.  

“I couldn’t be more proud of all the things we got to do and the people there and the success we had, but it’s time to enjoy life a little bit more and not necessarily fight the battles every single day. (Rotunda Capital Partners) really is more focused on the kind of growth I couldn’t bring to Storm Smart.” 

Storm Smart manufactures and installs innovative code-approved hurricane protection products such as storm catcher screens, impact-resistant windows, aluminum shutters and storm panels to customers across Southwest Florida.  

The more than 250 employees will all remain with the company after the sale is final, Rist said. Day-to-day operations and management will stay local, and he praised Boland for his work as CEO. 

Over the past 25 years, Storm Smart has been named a five-time winner of Inc.’s 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list, SBDC (Small Business Development Center) at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Innovator and Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year, the US Small Business Administration – South Florida district’s Small Business of the Year, and the Florida Governor’s Ambassador Award. 

Storm Smart’s innovative products have propelled the company to hold the title of largest manufacturer and installer of code-approved hurricane protection products in Florida (more than 80,000 customers), the Caribbean, Mexico and Guam, since opening its doors. Other accomplishments include being named 2016 Distributor of the Year and 2015 Manufacturer of the Year, both by the Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association, as well as Business Partner of the Year by the Cape Coral Community Foundation due to its financial and volunteer contributions to the foundation. 

Rist said the idea to look at a special fabric for hurricane protection/wind abatement (other than glass or wood), paired with outstanding customer service, is what made the company soar.  

Rist said he will always call Southwest Florida home, and that the connections he’s made with employees along the way is what he’s most proud of.  

“It’s the people of Storm Smart. I watched a lot of people who I hired right out of high school and watched them go off (and grow in front of my eyes),” Rist said. “We’ve had a couple of second-generation employees working for our company. Sure, business is about money, but what really makes me the most proud is the growth of the people who worked at Storm Smart — watching how their lives changed by our company.” 

Formed in 2020 by Rist and his wife Kim, the Rist Family Foundation aims to continue to make a difference in local educational arenas such as Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida SouthWestern State College and other local technical institutions. In March 2020, the foundation donated $1 million to FGCU, $750,000 of which went to the FGCU Center of Entrepreneurship & Innovation for the construction of an on-campus building the institute will call home. 

“We’re going to work with the schools in this area to develop scholarship programs and help develop kids that are maybe a little bit underserved,” Rist said. “We’re looking to help some of the people who may get passed by. 

“I am fortunate to be in a position where I can give back. It is so crucial for all of us to provide these young men and women the resources and skills needed to make them successful, upstanding members of our community as they begin the next phase of their lives. I am just happy I can play a part in that process.” 

Rist added he looks forward to continuing to be a part of the Southwest Florida community and help to enrich the area.  

— Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj