Future Finance closes €40M Series C
Future Finance will significantly grow its footprint in Chicago after closing a €40 million Series C on Tuesday. The round was led by KCK and included participation from existing investors, including S-Cubed, Invus and Fenway Summers. Jason Mikula, director of digital marketing, said the Dublin-based company has leased additional office space in the Loop and will make 15 new hires across its development, marketing and analytics teams. And in case you were wondering — because you totally were — €40 million is equal to $49 million. [PR Newswire]
These 3 Chicago tech companies also pulled in fresh funds
Wednesday, LandscapeHub announced it closed a $4.4 million seed round. The round was led by Chicago Ventures and featured participation from Hyde Park Venture Partners and Hyde Park Angels. The company will use the funding to build out its online marketplace, which connects landscaping companies to more than 85 suppliers of plants and other products. [Built In Chicago]
Figo also locked down funding on Wednesday. The cloud-based pet insurance company received a $4 million investment from HCS Capital Partners, a Miami-based private equity and operating firm. In a statement, Figo CEO Rusty Sproat said the funds would be used to grow the company and accelerate product development. [Business Wire]
Foxtrot got in on the week’s funding fun, too, announcing Thursday that it raised a $6 million Series A. Fifth Wall, which co-led Interior Define’s recent $15 million Series B round, led the round. Foxtrot will use the funds to grow its e-commerce efforts, open new stores and for hiring. CEO Mike LaVitola said headcount will double in 2018 as the company grows its engineering, marketing and operations teams. [Built In Chicago]
Starter League co-founder announces candidacy for mayor
Neal Sales-Griffin is running for mayor. The Starter League co-founder and CodeNow CEO candidacy was announced by Crain’s. Sales-Griffin will be running against incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel and Troy LaRaviere, a former Chicago Public Schools principal. The number of candidates trying to unseat Emanuel should grow as the election, which takes place in 2019, draws closer. [Crain’s]
ActiveCampaign can’t stop, won’t stop (growing)
ActiveCampaign has an ambitious goal: make 100 new hires by the end of summer. CEO Jason VandeBoom told Crain’s that the company will double the size of its office to accommodate new employees. In addition to the hiring news, ActiveCampaign also announced a business milestone: The company has surpassed 50,000 customers worldwide. [Built In Chicago]
VentureScale announces first cohort
VentureScale, a sales accelerator for early stage tech companies, has announced its first cohort. AwardSpring, Peanut Butter, FetchFind, Cubii, Genivity, AerialSpaces, Keboola and Actico will all take part in the accelerator’s 90-day program, designed to teach CEOs the core skills needed to build a scalable sales foundation. Helping these CEOs learn the ropes are 75 local tech company executives and sales leaders who have volunteered to serve as mentors. [Press release]
CloudCraze and Talent Rover have been acquired
CloudCraze took to its blog on Monday to announce it has been acquired by Salesforce. Terms of the deal were not announced. We normally don’t comment on whether acquisition deals make sense, but in this case we’ll make an exception. At first blush — and second, and third — this deal just seems right. CloudCraze’s B2B commerce technology is built atop Salesforce’s platform, and Salesforce Ventures participated in the company’s most recent funding round.
Red rover, red rover, send Talent Rover on over — to Boston. The fast-growing company —which made both the Inc. 500 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 in 2017 — has been acquired by the Boston-based Bullhorn, which provides cloud-based staffing software solutions. Kent Gray and Brandon Metcalf, Talent Rover’s co-founders, will assume executive leadership roles at Bullhorn. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. [Business Wire]
Paylocity looks to St. Louis for its latest acquisition
Paylocity has acquired BeneFLEX, a St. Louis-based, third-party benefits administration company. All 36 BeneFLEX employees will join Paylocity. Terms of the deal were not announced.
“The acquisition of BeneFLEX expands our product portfolio, allowing us to provide additional benefit administration solutions to our clients, prospects, and the insurance broker community,” Paylocity CEO Steve Beauchamp said in a statement. [Press release]
SPINS welcomes new executive
Irina Mazur is the new president of product library solutions at SPINS. Prior to joining SPINS, Mazur was Label Insight’s Chief Product Officer. She also held product development leadership positions at Apartments.com, Motorola Solutions and ShopperTrak, among other companies. [PR Newswire]
