Chicago-based dscout is on the verge of a hiring spree.
The company has announced the close of a $7.5 million Series B, which will be used to both grow its team and accelerate product development. The round was led by Detroit-based private equity firm Beringea LLC. Local private investment company Synetro Group, which led dscout’s previous two funding rounds, also participated.
“This round lets us go broader, expanding our customer base and our platform,” said CEO Michael Winnick. “We have only skimmed the surface of what we can do as a business and for our customers.”
We have only skimmed the surface of what we can do as a business and for our customers.”
The dscout platform helps companies gather real-world insights at scale on products, brands and user experiences. These insights are gleaned from “scouts” — regular people whose thoughts, behaviors and reactions to services and products are captured in-the-moment via surveys, photos and videos. The company has over 100,000 scouts using its app and a wide range of clients that includes technology, healthcare and consulting companies.
“Dscout’s innovative approach to consumer research helps some of the world’s most influential companies make smart decisions faster,” said Beringea Managing Director Michael Gross in a statement. “We’re proud to help the dscout team build on its track record of research industry disruption and outstanding SaaS execution.”
CEO Michael Winnick said dscout’s current headcount of 60 will triple in the next few years as the company beefs up its sales, product and engineering teams.
We are looking for people who are great at what they do and have a passion for understanding others.”
“We are looking for people who are great at what they do and have a passion for understanding others,” said Winnick. “Curious, empathic, humble and hungry is the formula for a great member of our team.”
In addition to hiring, dscout will also add new features to its platform, one of which is a video function that’s currently in beta testing. The company will also up its investment in both artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“We are in the midst of launching a new product, dscout Live, which is video calling designed specifically for research,” Winnick said. “We are particularly enthusiastic about our work in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which presents enormous opportunities for us to deliver on our mission in new, impactful ways.”
The company, which launched in 2011, has raised a total of $11 million.
