Savvy investors know to talk to a startup’s customers before deciding whether to make a bet on its future, but there is one way to get an an even better inside scoop: being a customer yourself.
That is how DevMynd’s $4 million Series A round of funding from Motorola Solutions Venture Capital came to be.
“The opportunity came to us, actually,” said DevMynd CEO JC Grubbs, who hadn’t been actively seeking capital. “What really attracted us to it wasn’t necessarily even the capital — though it is going to help accelerate growth — but the strategic partnership with Motorola.”
The Bucktown-based software startup has worked with Motorola’s team for some time on building next-generation communications tools for use by employees in the public safety and industrial sectors. Possible applications include situational awareness enhancers that keep employees out of danger and rich messaging that gives field operators more complete information than voice communications.
Grubbs said the funding will let DevMynd scale its team to meet Motorola’s growing demand for its services while still maintaining a diversity of clients. He expects his team to grow from 26 to around 40 by the end of next year.
Such strategic partnerships are a key part of Motorola Solutions Venture Capital’s investment philosophy. The VC shop invests primarily in technology companies that can have mutually beneficial relationships with Motorola Solutions but that are also successful as independent businesses in their own right.
Founded in 2011, DevMynd is headquartered in Chicago with an additional office in San Francisco. In the five years since its founding it has already scored a coveted spot on the 2015 Inc. 500 list of the country’s fastest-growing startups. It has also landed a number of marquee clients including Trunk Club, Signal and AB InBev, in addition to Motorola Solutions.
Though he attributes its success in landing big clients partly to luck, Grubbs said two main aspects of the company’s approach have served it well.
“One is taking care of your customers. If you do quality work and you also stick to your values, you’re going to win in the end,” he said. “The other thing is that we really don’t sell.”
Instead of chasing down closes, DevMynd has taken the approach of offering free advice to companies who may eventually end up becoming clients. Despite the high up-front cost of giving away free consulting services, Grubbs said the approach has brought tenfold returns over time.
Image via DevMynd.
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