Dreams are expensive.
While harnessing the power of the imagination is free, it’s the process of turning innovative dreams into a tangible reality that requires capital for startups on the rise. Fragmented ideas transform into seamless functions and products, a small group of masterminds becomes an extensive team of creatives, and high-powered software lifts that initial dream to life. All of those changes come with a price tag.
That’s where investors come in. Receiving financial reinforcement from a major industry player not only boosts confidence for tech creators, but also signals to others that it’s a real idea with potential. When Airbnb initially launched in 2007, it was as a humble website offering affordable alternatives to sold-out or price-inflated hotels in major cities. After fine-tuning the platform’s capabilities into a streamlined app as awareness grew over the years, the homestay company announced in 2010 that it had raised $7.2 million in venture capital investments — transforming the business into the well-known tech unicorn we recognize today.
To learn more about the power of possibility for startups funded by venture capital investments, Built In Chicago caught up with BigTime’s CFO Peter Dedes to discuss the consulting software company’s latest funding round, their ambitious plans for the future and why active job seekers should be paying attention.
When was your last funding round, how much did you raise and how much funding has your company now raised in total?
In January 2022, BigTime received a strategic growth investment of $100 million from Vista Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses.
The investment from Vista will be used to enhance product development and innovation, drive recruiting efforts for BigTime’s Chicago and Phoenix offices and bolster customer sales and support. As BigTime continues to gain market share with SMBs in professional services, the company will continue to prioritize the delivery of user-friendly software that enables firms to manage their operations, KPI reporting and financial health in real time.
We plan to double our headcount to 200 over the next three years with big investments in product, development and training.”
Why did your team feel that the time was right to raise a round of funding?
Our market is massive and growing at a high rate. We felt that with a strategic partner like Vista and the capital, we can be the number-one player in our target market for time, expense, billing and project management for 20-250 person professional service firms in the next three to five years.
How do you plan to deploy this capital?
We plan to double our headcount to 200 over the next three years with big investments in product, development, sales, customer success and training. Additionally, our payments product is only a year old and we have to invest significantly to grow that to be a crucial piece of our business.
