Participated · Series C · May 2020

Aircall is a Paris-based cloud phone solution that integrates with CRM platforms to serve small and medium businesses. The company is valued above $1 billion. It has a reinforced partnership with HubSpot to deliver integrated technology and enhanced customer experiences. Aircall plans to develop its mission to build a seamless ecosystem around voice and phone communications. Olivier Pailhes, co-founder and CEO, emphasized continuing the strong relationship with HubSpot and integrating products through a strong and open ecosystem. The company recently received new funding from HubSpot Ventures as part of that partnership. Aircall builds a cloud-based phone system that integrates with CRM and support tools such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Slack and Intercom. The product offers local numbers, IVR directories, call queue management, agent call controls and admin analytics and monitoring. Aircall has capitalized on remote and hybrid work demand: signups increased 65% in 2020 and the company serves 8,500 customers (15% France, 35% U.S., 50% other). With the new funding, the company plans to iterate on product integrations, particularly industry-specific ones, and add features like better transcription and sentiment analysis. The company will open new offices in London and Berlin and add hires in existing offices in New York, Paris, Sydney and Madrid. Aircall also plans to control a larger portion of its tech stack by collaborating with major telecommunications companies to leverage their networks. Aircall provides a cloud-based voice platform that integrates with productivity and helpdesk tools to make phone support easy to manage. The product is used by companies to handle customer support and sales calls and the company serves thousands of new and existing customers. Aircall is led by co-founder and CEO Olivier Pailhès. In May 2020 the company closed a $65M Series C funding round, bringing total funding to over $100M. The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and broaden its business reach. The platform’s integration focus targets teams already using popular productivity and helpdesk tools. Aircall is a provider of cloud-based phone systems and call center software that enables businesses to connect with customers, partners and employees in new ways. Founded in 2014 and led by CEO Olivier Pailhes, the company offers a zero-hardware system with dozens of integration options and the ability to add local numbers in more than 40 countries. Its platform is used by thousands of businesses. The company raised $29M in Series B funding to accelerate the buildout of its cloud phone system and extend integrations across the software tools used by modern businesses. It also plans to hire top talent to expand its teams in the U.S. and Europe. The Series B brings total funding to date to $40.5M, positioning Aircall to scale product development and go-to-market efforts. Aircall offers a cloud phone system that provides virtual phone numbers, multi-agent call management and modern call-center features for support teams. The product includes integrations with services such as Salesforce and Zendesk, mobile apps, improved call quality and team-oriented features like call distribution, recording, queuing and opening-hours controls. The company has expanded its feature set to support larger teams and added customization options such as custom waiting music and call transfer. Aircall reports roughly 2,000 customers and a team of about 30 people, which the company plans to double over the next 12 months. Following the new funding, the company plans U.S. expansion with a new New York office and CEO Olivier Pailhes intends to relocate there. The recent raise is described as confirming the company’s rapid growth rate.

Led · Equity · Feb 2020

Van Leeuwen produces handcrafted dairy ice cream alongside cashew-based and oat-milk vegan lines, using a short list of high-quality ingredients sourced from artisan producers. The company grew from a shared Brooklyn apartment kitchen to a business with scoop shops, trucks and grocery pint distribution. Today it operates 21 brick-and-mortar scoop shops in New York and Los Angeles, several trucks, and sells pints through over 2,000 wholesale doors including major supermarket chains. Van Leeuwen emphasizes ingredient quality and has developed proprietary vegan formulations (including a seven-flavor oat milk line). The brand reports strong consumer demand and a cult-like following, and leadership says several new products are in development. Management plans to use new capital to open additional scoop shops and expand wholesale distribution. Van Leeuwen produces dairy and vegan ice cream from its Greenpoint, Brooklyn facility, making ice cream from scratch using fresh milk and cream, organic egg yolks and pure cane sugar. The company operates 13 scoop shops and 6 trucks across New York and Los Angeles and sells pints in over 700 retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Fairway Market and Erewhon. Its vegan line, launched in 2014, uses a proprietary blend of cashews, coconuts and cocoa butter and has received critical acclaim. Van Leeuwen sources premium add-ins and ingredients from named purveyors and makes many add-ins in-house. The founders plan to expand retail footprint with three new scoop shops in Soho, Prospect Park and Silver Lake, bringing the total to 16. The company has grown without outside equity until this announcement and emphasizes maintaining product integrity as it scales.