附近上门

Germany-based closed a $5 million Series A as it looks to help companies prioritize product and software development 鈥� something that has become more difficult as workforces go remote.

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The new round was led by , with participation from . Founded in 2018, the company has now raised approximately $8 million.

Airfocus鈥� product management platform allows product teams to collaborate on strategic initiatives 鈥� something that has been a pain point for companies for years, and only worsened as the pandemic forced so many workforces to go remote, said co-founder and CEO .

鈥淲e saw a massive increase last year,鈥� Scholz said. 鈥淪o much of product development used to be done on the white board, and with everybody being remote that was gone.鈥�

The company was able to triple both its revenue and customer base last year. It now has 700 total customers, including and .

Growing needs

While several work management platforms such as and allow teams to actually build together, Airfocus plays on the layer above 鈥� helping product teams manage and prioritize which features and enhancements to build.

鈥淲e are solving a very real problem for companies,鈥� Scholz said. 鈥淕etting the product right is the hardest part for any company.鈥�

with XAnge said recent numbers from research firm show 50 percent of teams struggle to prioritize product development initiatives and 30 percent lack a process to capture feedback.

鈥淲e鈥檝e looked at this space for years,鈥� Baraer said. 鈥淲e knew the pain point was high, but looking further into it the pain was even higher than expected.鈥�

The 28-person company will use the new funding to add to its platform, ramp up marketing, and hire its first salespeople, Scholz said. The company sees about 40 percent to 50 percent of its revenue coming from the U.S., and could open an office there next year 鈥� possibly accompanied by a Series B led by an American investor, he added.

In the meantime, the company will battle with other startups in the space like San Francisco-based , Toronto-based and Menlo Park, California-based . Scholz said he believes the company鈥檚 platform is more flexible and adaptable than any other in the market.

While Scholz acknowledged large companies like continue to grow their product development line of offerings, he said he does believe the market exists for others.

鈥淭his is a massive market,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 believe it can create new multibillion-dollar companies.鈥�

Illustration: .