Company News
The Next Step: What We’re Going to Do with Our Series E
July 21, 2021 was the last time I did something like this, so bear with me.
A lot has changed in the 900+ days since we announced something like this, but our mission hasn’t. We’re still here to forever elevate accounting. And we do it by calling upon the experiences of the former accountants among us, the professionals who’ve learned the industry inside and out during their time with the company, and, perhaps most importantly: Actual FloQast users who teach us something new every day.
And now, I’m proud to say that we’re in an even better situation to execute our mission. Recently, we closed our Series E round of funding, adding some unbelievable resources to our Board and putting FloQast in a fantastic position to continue our product development and enhancement, improve customer experience, and fuel international expansion.
I’ll get to the specifics eventually, but how much we raised and what valuation we raised it at isn’t nearly as important as our intended purpose for the money. Don’t get me wrong: We’re jazzed. But when we started seriously talking to investors months back, it was because the FloQast team was in lock-step about why we wanted to raise, and what that would mean for current (and future) FloQast users.
When we started this process, we felt really good about our go-to-market engine, and we saw a ton of opportunity to double (triple?) down on our investment there to continue to grow our product suite while also enhancing what we’ve built.
To get to the point: Our Series E isn’t about doing something like tripling our Sales organization. It’s about investing heavily in our Engineering and Product teams to build a bigger and stronger platform to reach our goal of being the go-to resource for the office of the controller.
But that’s not all. This round will help us fuel our research and development into new solutions designed to improve existing workflows by further incorporating AI. We’re proud of our products, but we know that releasing them is just the first step. We continue improving on those products to ensure they provide as much value to FloQast users as possible.
We always have user experience in mind. It’s easy to say that, but having used technology as an accountant myself — and hated the experience — we’ve been very deliberate about not outsourcing our Accounting Success team and focusing heavily on our relationship with users. Our Series E will allow us to continue to do so, and I’m really excited about that.
Lastly, we intend to use these funds to continue our international expansion. In the last year, we’ve expanded our presence to Australia and New Zealand, launching our Sydney headquarters in the process, and into the DACH region. We will continue that expansion further, but I’m not allowed to say where just yet, so stay tuned.
So, about those specifics. Our Series E brings in $100M, and was led by ICONIQ Growth, with Roy Luo joining FloQast’s Board of Directors. Going back to when we were only passively speaking with investors about a round we weren’t sure we would raise, we met Roy and were blown away by his knowledge about FloQast and his impression of our mission.
Additionally, BDT & MSD Partners and WiL (World Innovation Lab) also joined the round as first-time investors.
BDT & MSD Partners are Michael Dell’s family office, and he’s been someone who I have tremendous admiration for. They’re a big-time fund, but how well they aligned with us really struck me. They really bought into our long-term vision and understand where the FloQast platform is now, and where we want to go with it.
When we first spoke with WiL, they told us ‘Hey we love what you’re doing and would love to support your growth if there’s ever an opportunity,’ and they’ve come in to do just that. Their expertise in international expansion will be critical as we move forward, and I can’t wait to work with them.
Back in 2021, Meritech Capital led our Series D, which also included participation from Sapphire Ventures. Both funds have provided us with so much support since then, and we’re glad that they participated in this Series E as well.
With our plans for the funds out of the way, I just wanted to say how proud I am of the FloQast team. In 2021, we raised the Series D at a $1.2B valuation. The Series E comes in at a $1.6B valuation. That’s a big deal. As our CFO Razzak Jallow said on the latest episode of Blood, Sweat & Balance Sheets — which is releasing on Monday, April 15 — “Flat is the new up” in the current fundraising environment, and I couldn’t agree more.
Lastly, I want to thank Razzak for his efforts on this Series E. He’s spent hundreds of hours meeting with potential investors and working behind the scenes to make this happen — including convincing me to pull the trigger. This was our first round of funding where I wasn’t the only one focused on raising the funds, and it was so, so much better that way. Razzak is a tremendous asset to the FloQast team, a valued resource to the entire organization, and, despite his lamentable San Francisco Giants fandom, a great all-around person who I feel really, really lucky to have around.
This is a thrilling time for FloQast and FloQast users, and when I say I’m excited to share this news, it’s not CEO-speak. We have big plans for our Series E and are already off to the races.
