Chicago techies looking for their next big opportunity just got another well-funded startup to get in touch with. Showpad, a Belgium-based sales enablement technology startup, announced on Wednesday that it is opening a new Chicago office that will serve as its North American headquarters.
The startup plans to make at least 20 local hires initially, including at the executive level, and will be headed up by Chicago tech veteran Jason Holmes.
“The tech ecosystem in Chicago is flourishing with ambitious entrepreneurs and a fast-growing talent pool, which made it a perfect location for our North American headquarters,” said Holmes. “The prestigious universities in the area, the city’s rapidly expanding tech scene and the ease of doing business were all key drivers of the decision.”
Founded in 2011, Showpad makes software that streamlines collaboration between sales and marketing teams. The platform includes content organization, presentation and analytics tools that guide salespeople toward the right sales collateral and follow-up strategy for any given situation. It also helps marketing teams track the impact of individual pieces of content.
Holmes, a Chicago native whose resume includes senior leadership roles at Marketo, Adobe Systems and Oracle, takes on the role as the Showpad’s president and chief operating officer. He will be responsible for leading the startup’s global sales, marketing, customer success and business development efforts out of the Chicago office.
Holmes said the exact location of Showpad’s new office has yet to be determined, but that it will be somewhere in the Loop.
“Chicago is my hometown, and with a teenager at home who is an aspiring computer and software engineer, I wanted to have a positive impact on the Chicago technology market,” Holmes said. “Within that impact, I want to make sure we diversify our local economy for our children, add jobs and attract investment capital.”
Showpad has raised nearly $65 million to date, the bulk of which came in the form of a $50 million Series C closed in 2016. That round was led by Insight Venture Partners, whose portfolio includes Chicago companies SMS Assist, SpotHero and Caremerge.
In addition to its headquarters in Ghent, Belgium, Showpad has offices in London, San Francisco and Portland. Its customers include Audi, Johnson & Johnson and Fujifilm.
Image via Showpad.
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