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Furthr VC leads 1.1M euro investment in Galway’s Ronspot
- Funding will help Ronspot to expand operations and scale globally
- Company will create 10 new jobs in the next 18 months
- Ronspot expects revenues to grow 400% year-on-year to 2025
Furthr VC today announces that it has led a €1.1M investment round in Galway’s hybrid workplace management platform, Ronspot. The investment, which also included funding from the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) and Enterprise Ireland, will help Ronspot to expand its team and scale globally.
Starting out as a corporate parking management solution in 2018, Ronspot has evolved to a three-in-one space management platform designed to make hybrid working easy, while also supporting efficiency in the workplace. The cloud-based application enables users to book car and bicycle parking, hot desks and meeting rooms, as well as manage visitor requirements and other resources including lockers – all on one unified mobile app. Users can see real-time availability, as well as the bookings of their colleagues.
From three customers in two countries in 2018, to more than 200 customers in 30+ countries today, Ronspot is on a rapid, upward growth trajectory. The company expects revenues to grow by 400% year-on-year to 2025. The growth has been driven by the widespread adoption of hybrid working models – in a space and workplace management software market that is expected to grow beyond $1.3BN by 20241 – supported by Ronspot’s continued development of its platform. In the last two years, it has added new features including groups, teams, recurring bookings and single sign-on – resulting in its engineering team more than doubling in the last two years.
On the back of its latest funding round and to fuel further growth, Ronspot will create an additional 10 jobs in the next 18 months, bringing its team up to 28 people. The new roles2, based in Galway and Dublin on a hybrid or remote basis, will be in the areas sales, marketing, customer success, data security and human resources. The additional team members will help Ronspot to expand in new and existing markets. It is currently taking part in the Enterprise Ireland ‘Enter the Eurozone’ programme with the aim of establishing a physical presence in Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
The funding from Furthr VC comes from its latest fund, backed by leading Irish technology entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as Enterprise Ireland. With an emphasis on highly scalable, export-focused software and MedTech companies, the €32M fund has so far invested in 15 companies and is on-track to invest in up to 30 companies by year-end 2024.
Michael Furey, CEO, Ronspot, said: “Today’s organisations are acutely aware of the need to provide flexible hybrid working solutions in order to retain and attract talent. It continues to be an employee’s market and top talent will leave roles, or accept positions elsewhere, if a company isn’t doing enough to support the work/life balance that they have become accustomed to over the last two-and-a-half years. We recognised this shift early on in the pandemic and have evolved our solution to become an essential tool in any modern workplace.
“Additionally, organisations are starting to review their real estate commitments with an eye on how they can reduce their building footprint and its associated costs, while at the same time increasing their head count with more intelligent management of their office spaces. The days of ‘one desk, one employee’ are a thing of the past for many, so it’s important that these resources are utilised more effectively in the future.
“We are delighted to receive this funding from our investors, who share our excitement for the future of Ronspot. The team at Furthr VC have been working closely with us, offering valuable advice as we prepare for a period of rapid global growth.”
Richard Watson, Managing Partner, Furthr VC, said: “Great companies can be born out of uncertain times and Ronspot is an example of this. Early in the pandemic, the team recognised that the world of office work was changing forever and took the company in a new direction to take advantage of this. We are excited to be leading this investment round and look forward to working closely with Ronspot’s leadership team as we prepare for strong international growth and ultimately delivering significant returns for our investors and other shareholders.”
Stephen Stilliard, chair of HBAN’s WxNW syndicate, said: “Having contributed €400K in 2020, angels in our syndicate are once again investing in Ronspot. Angel investors want to back businesses that are built for the future and that is what Ronspot represents. It has recognised, and capitalised on, an exciting market trend and our investors see great potential in that.”
Jennifer Melia, Divisional Manager, Technology and Services, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Ronspot is an ambitious, scaling company that is competing and winning in international markets. Its offering has expanded to provide comprehensive space management solutions as the world of work has evolved, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Enterprise Ireland is proud to invest in this Galway-based company that has strong growth and job creation plans and we look forward to helping them deliver their ambition.”
Ronspot has benefited from the support of external agencies including iHub at the Atlantic Technological University in Galway for providing a space to learn and grow, as well as the WestBIC Business & Innovation Centre for its continued support throughout Ronspot’s growth journey. The team also benefited from Enterprise Ireland programmes such as New Frontiers and the Enter the Eurozone.
Ends
2 https://ronspotflexwork.com/about-us/#careers
About Ronspot
Ronspot is a 3-in-1 space management solution for businesses to manage their desking, parking spaces, and meeting rooms. The system aims to allow companies to easily manage their hybrid workplace and save time on administration, scheduling, staff queries, and real-estate costs.
Ronspot Ltd. was established in Ireland in 2017 to respond to a newfound need at that time for companies to solve their car parking issues. When the pandemic hit and the world came to a standstill, Ronspot’s parking product and market expansion was put on hold. Covid brought a big challenge for Ronspot. However, in response, the company pivoted to desk management, creating a system to help manage office desks. Therefore, turning a monumental challenge into a massive opportunity to expand and grow the company.
Ronspot currently has more than 200 customers in 30+ countries, in major economic hubs from Bangalore to Milan and beyond.
About Furthr VC
Furthr VC, the venture arm of Furthr, launched its latest early-stage venture fund in late 2019 with the backing of leading Irish technology entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as Enterprise Ireland. The fund is highly active, investing in Seed to Series A-stage B2B software and MedTech companies in Ireland, with initial investments of up to €650K. Furthr VC invests in and partners with highly ambitious start-up teams developing globally scalable products and services, and which are positioned to become the next generation of Ireland’s leading technology companies. In addition to providing institutional capital at an early stage, Furthr VC is a long-term partner to its portfolio companies and can invest up to €3M in a company through subsequent follow-on investment rounds.
https://furthr.ie/venture-capital/
About Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland is the Irish government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. The organisation works in partnership with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. In this way, Enterprise Ireland supports sustainable economic growth and regional development, and help create and sustain employment in Ireland.
About HBAN
HBAN is a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland, dedicated to the all-island promotion of business angel investment. The HBAN umbrella group supports the early stage entrepreneurial community across the island of Ireland and actively works to increase the number of angel investors investing in early stage companies. The all-island umbrella group works on a regional basis to support the formation of new angel networks and works with existing angel networks to develop their capability and capacity, and across a range of industry sectors. HBAN also acts as a voice to Government, stakeholders, business and the media to promote the interests and needs of the wider angel investment community. HBAN is managed by Dublin BIC in partnership with the regional Irish BICs in Cork, Galway & Waterford and with Clarendon Fund Managers in Northern Ireland. Further information is available at www.hban.org