Performance management startup SocialCrowd has secured $1.6 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Bread and Butter Ventures, according to an exclusive report from TechCrunch. Other participants in the funding round included VC 414, Serac Ventures, and Gala Capital Partners. SocialCrowd intends to use the pre-seed funds to grow its team and focus on client acquisition.
Launched in 2020, SocialCrowd offers a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that enables companies to set and track employee performance goals while providing rewards for achievements. Raphael Akinsipe, co-founder of SocialCrowd, described the platform as akin to Fitbit but tailored for the workplace.
Akinsipe explained that SocialCrowd allows customers to establish incentive campaigns with specific goals. The platform then tracks employee performance in real time by integrating with existing productivity apps. Employees receive reminders to meet their targets, and upon goal completion, they earn points redeemable for gift cards or custom rewards, such as time off.
The startup has garnered increased attention, particularly from companies struggling to manage the shift to remote work. Akinsipe emphasized that many of SocialCrowd’s customers have large blue-collar shift teams that couldn’t transition to remote work during or after the pandemic. This challenge led to difficulties in staff retention, creating a heightened demand for solutions that enhance employee retention and productivity.
Despite economic downturns, work software remains an attractive investment for venture capitalists. Investors are drawn to the potential correlation between work software, increased productivity, and return on investment. Corporations tend to prioritize spending on work software, even in challenging economic climates.
For SocialCrowd, fundraising proved to be a marathon. Akinsipe revealed that it took approximately nine months to secure this pre-seed round, with most lead investors being connected through referrals. Acknowledging the challenging fundraising landscape in the past year, he emphasized the importance of endurance and creativity in closing the entire round.
Mary Grove, a managing partner at Bread and Butter, expressed enthusiasm for SocialCrowd’s consumer-first approach and emphasis on employee-focused solutions. She mentioned that feedback from current customers indicates that the platform is a win-win for both employers and frontline workers.
Akinsipe envisions a future where SocialCrowd’s platform evolves beyond incentives and rewards, becoming a comprehensive tool for employee growth and business insight. The co-founders, Raphael Akinsipe and Paul Doran, initially met in college as roommates. Their entrepreneurial journey began with a hardware startup, and despite facing challenges, they continued to build and innovate with subsequent ventures, including web designing firm Glow Station and website management service Just Media Studios. Akinsipe, with experience at Google and Casetabs (which sold to Bain Capital), remains dedicated to the entrepreneurial path alongside his co-founder.
