PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- gr8 People, a leader in enterprise recruiting software for Corporate and recruiting process outsourcing (RPO) enterprises, today announced an $8 million Series B financing round led by Boston-based Ascent Venture Partners, with continued participation from Delancey Street Partners and Randstad Innovation Fund. The funding follows a period of sustained and rapid growth for gr8 People; the company closed 2017 with record revenue growth of nearly 500 percent. This round brings gr8 People’s total funding to date to $14 million.
The new capital will be used to scale the business to meet the increasing demand for the gr8 People platform in existing and new markets. It will also facilitate expansion of its One-Experience Talent Platform, furthering the innovation that drives business results and redefines how the modern world recruits talent.
“Talent acquisition professionals are under tremendous pressure to attract, engage and hire the best talent, while ensuring an exceptional experience for all participants throughout the talent lifecycle,” said, Diane Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of gr8 People. “We’re thrilled to see that instead of looking within the accepted boundaries of how recruiting technology has always done things, that our transformative vision has come to life in the form of our One-Experience Talent Platform. In 2017, we engaged 70 new CRM and Recruitment Marketing customers and more than 25 full platform customers. This enormous growth provides a real breakthrough in value for our enterprise-customers connecting entire talent ecosystems into an innovative one-experience of performance, agility and intelligence.”
gr8 People’s roster of customers includes some of the world’s most innovative recruiting institutions like Talbots, Teradata, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Argus, Precision Medicine Group, Pivot Physical Therapy, Randstad UK and others around the globe.
"We strive to find pioneering businesses that will shape and change markets. gr8 People is just such a company, as proven by its consistent and rapid growth, and its commitment to innovation," said Ascent Venture Partners' General Partner, Luke Burns. "We are confident that gr8 People will keep building on its established leadership position and fuel the market with best-in-class technology solutions.”
gr8 People was founded by Diane Smith and Jayne Kettles (CEO and COO), highly successful entrepreneurs who previously founded VirtualEdge Corporation (acquired by Automated Data Processing, Inc. in 2006). Its enterprise-ready, one-experience talent platform drives significant value for users, addressing one of the most complex internal processes. In January, the company was recognized by consulting firm LAROCQUE as one of HRWins “Top HR Companies to Watch” for Employee Experience.
About gr8 People
gr8 People is 100 percent purpose-built to deliver the unfair advantage companies demand to compete for talent around the world. It’s the enterprise platform that brings CRM, recruitment marketing, hiring and onboarding together; connecting entire talent ecosystems into one-experience of performance, agility and results. It’s everything talent professionals need to Recruit gr8. Worldwide. To learn more, visit www.gr8people.com.
About Ascent Venture Partners
Ascent Venture Partners is dedicated to investing in innovation for the enterprise. In backing more than 100 early-stage, emerging technology companies since 1985, Ascent has remained committed to its mission of partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs striving to build innovative market leaders. Ascent’s investments have yielded powerful results generating more than $10 billion in enterprise value, which speaks to the firm’s deep knowledge, experience, commitment, and networks. The Ascent investment team manages six venture funds with total commitments of more than $500 million, and is located in Boston, Mass.
About Delancey Street Partners
Delancey Street Partners is an independent, industry-focused investment bank. We serve CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Shareholders and Boards of Directors of high growth and middle market private and public companies. Our services include strategic advisory, capital raising and independent board advice. We advise on sell-side and buy-side M&A, growth capital financings and recapitalizations. Our focus sectors include Business & Technology Services, Downstream Energy & Logistics, Healthcare and Industrial & Industrial Technology. We form long-term partnerships with our clients and each engagement is managed by senior professionals with years of industry experience and insight. We make strategic investments through our Delancey Street Capital Partners Fund.
About Randstad Innovation Fund
Randstad Innovation Fund (RIF) is a strategic corporate venture fund that supports Randstad's ambition to be a leader in its field. (Minority) investments in HR technologies ensure future, innovative solutions to make processes more efficient and bring fresh answers to HR challenges. Our goal is to create an ecosystem where Randstad’s expertise complements entrepreneurial spirit and technological excellence.
Alex Fricke
africke@gr8people.com
215-693-1122