“A meeting of minds”: Aussie HR startup Flare bags $21 million investment led by New York VC

Australian HR and payroll technology startup Flare has closed a $21 million Series B funding round, but co-founder James Windon says the raise is just as much about getting the right investors as it is about dollars in the bank.

The raise was led by New York-based venture capital firm Point72 Ventures, and also includes previous investors Reinventure and BridgeLane, plus newcomers Acorn Capital and Tank Stream Ventures.

It follows a $7 million raise in August last year, which also saw Windon join the team as a late-coming co-founder to focus on the more consumer-focused aspects of the startup.

Founded in 2015 by Dan Cohen, Saul Kaplan and Colin Mierowsky, the cloud-based platform allows employers to manage HR processes including employee onboarding, payroll, benefits and superannuation.

The startup is also in the process of growing its financial wellbeing capability, designed to give employees access to financial education and tools to help them make important financial decisions.

Windon tells StartupSmart Flare has doubled its customer base over the past 12 months and now has more than 100,000 employees on the platform.

“We have a product with a broad appeal, we feel great about the product-market fit. Now was the time to scale that,” he says.

“It was the right partners, the right time, we have a clear road map and the need to build our team,” he adds. Read more

Stephanie Palmer-Derrien - SmartCompany - 29 August 2018