Led · Seed · Jun 2023

M80 is an esports organization focused on expanding its footprint across esports, content creation, and consumer products. The company plans to become a web3-enabled gaming and esports company through a division called M80 Labs. M80 announced a $3M seed funding round that sources said matched the amount it had been seeking. The round was led by ExpertDojo, VT Technology Ventures, and Practical Venture Capital. A majority of the early investors are making their first steps in esports, and the article suggests M80's web3 components likely compelled their commitments. The article notes investor backgrounds: ExpertDojo has a diversified portfolio across banking, fintech, edtech, software, and entertainment; VT Technology Ventures previously invested in and exited Framerate, which was founded by current M80 CEO Marco Mereu and sold to Super League Gaming for $2.5M in 2019; Practical Venture Capital's disclosed investments include Kitchen Data Systems, Klasha, Headout, Forecastr, Sova Health, and SolidBlock.

Participated · Series A · May 2021

Boston-based Pliant offers a highly scalable, low-code automation and orchestration platform that converts API code into reusable building blocks, enabling operations and engineering teams to automate everything from simple tasks to complex cross-domain workflows. The software includes out-of-the-box solutions for IT service-management orchestration, Kubernetes management, and user onboarding, delivering near-immediate ROI. Its flexible architecture helps customers control costs, speed time-to-value, reduce human error, and maintain compliance. Pliant stresses customer centricity; broadband provider WhyFly, for example, credits the platform with improving onboarding while freeing internal resources. Since launch, the company has exceeded its growth targets and onboarded dozens of customers. Looking ahead, Pliant will channel new capital into sales, marketing, alliances, customer success, and ongoing product development to sustain rapid expansion in the burgeoning IT automation market.

Participated · Equity · Jan 2018

HelloTeam offers a combined performance-management and employee-engagement platform with features such as peer-to-peer recognition, employee rewards, automated performance reviews, and employee surveys. The company serves customers including Massage Envy, Mood Media, and Onyx CenterSource. Onyx reported a one‑third reduction in turnover after full implementation in 2022 and said HelloTeam saved them north of $4 million per year. HelloTeam plans to use the new capital to expand its platform capabilities and broaden its reach as it addresses the $1 trillion employee retention crisis. The company is led by founder Tanya Bakalov and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. The business has reported meaningful customer success and has grown its financing to support product and market expansion. HelloTeam provides an all-in-one performance management and employee engagement platform that helps companies foster a connected culture via continuous recognition and feedback. The platform is designed to empower managers and employees to be more engaged and effective in their work. The company raised $3.5M in seed funding and intends to use the proceeds for strategic product enhancements. The round was led by Underscore VC and included Osage Venture Partners, Ventureforgood, and other investors. HelloTeam was founded by Tanya Bakalov. Bakalov previously grew her prior company to a $1 billion valuation with more than 500 employees across multiple offices. HelloTeam (formerly BetterSkills, Inc.) provides a SaaS-based engagement and talent management platform designed to increase employee engagement, improve retention and enable data-driven people strategies. The platform delivers real-time instant insights and analytics to inform HR and management decisions. The company is led by CEO and founder Tanya Bakalov. HelloTeam is headquartered in Boston, MA. In November 2018 the company raised $2.7M in funding. Backers on the round included Bain Capital Ventures, Osage Ventures, VT Technology Ventures and select angels.

Participated · Series C · Sep 2015

SevOne provides digital infrastructure management solutions built on its patented SevOne Cluster architecture, which aggregates massive amounts of data to deliver real-time insights. The company serves large datacenter and network operators, carriers, and enterprises and cites penetration among top customers (40% of top technology companies, 50% of top fixed and mobile broadband carriers, and 60% of top investment services firms). SevOne recently raised $50 million in a Series C financing to accelerate growth into new technologies and markets. The company said it will invest in new technologies and markets and is constructing a 48,000 square-foot research and development center on the University of Delaware STAR Campus, opening in October. SevOne has offices in Boston, Philadelphia, London, and Bulgaria and was named a Visionary in Gartner's 2015 Magic Quadrant for Network Performance Monitoring and Diagnostics. SevOne provides real-time infrastructure and performance management using a peer-to-peer networking architecture and big-data clusters, delivered as a hardware or virtual appliance. Its P2P system uses a single common code base and image so distributed appliances are aware of each other and can monitor millions of elements across networking technologies via a web interface. SevOne charges $5 per monitored element and counts customers including Comcast and Thomson Reuters; it was ranked 75th fastest-growing company in North America on Deloitte’s 2012 Technology Fast 500. The company currently has about 140 employees and plans to scale to several hundred by the end of the year, hiring salespeople and developers to reach the mid-market. To expand beyond very large enterprise customers into mid-sized enterprises, SevOne intends to build a deeper inside-sales organization and make the product easier to consume. It raised $150 million from Bain Capital to scale its IT management offering and pursue an initial public offering.