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The transparent B2B marketplace for IT goods, MarkITx, announced late last week a follow-on round of funding to the tune of $2.15 million. According to founder and CEO Frank Muscarello, “all former investors came in and doubled down, plus a handful of others.”
Muscarello says the funding will enable him to scale engineering and business development in order to grow his top line. And since he’s still after the $348 billion enterprise IT trade market, those extra employees could be key.
While scaling the product was a priority for Muscarello, he wanted to do it his way. This meant turning down institutional investors in order to give existing investors an opportunity to pitch in more in exchange for a convertible note. This move brings MarkITx’s total early financing to $3.31 million.
But funding isn’t the only aspect of MarkITx that’s growing these days. With 11 employees, the company recently became one of 1871’s original “graduates.”
“We had outgrown 1871, which was awesome, and needed more space,” Muscarello says. “Plus, the engineering team works better in their own environment where they can shut off the outside world and distractions.”
As such, the company has moved into a space at 1 E. Wacker Drive. Currently, the MarkITx team is working out of a temporary suite, while awaiting the completion of their 2,600-square-foot permanent offices. And with the added space, will likely come a bigger team. Reports indicate that MarkITx will bring on another 10 employees within a year.
Following an event celebrating 1871 companies that recently graduated or received funding, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, “I congratulate MarkITx on its latest round of funding. 1871 is a hotbed of innovation, producing great companies around Chicago, and I look forward to continued great accomplishments.”
Looking ahead, Muscarello says he faces the challenge of finding balance. “We need capital to grow and scale but we need to be maniacal about users and making sure they are extremely happy,” he says. Taking on the former too fast could mean losing sight of the latter.
At this stage, though, Muscarello is happy with MarkITx’s progress and its people. “I am most proud of the amazing team of talent that we've been able to assemble from internally and our shareholders,” he says. “We are truly lucky to have such a great team around us, which is the mark of an awesome company.”
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