附近上门

, a 401(k) provider for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), announced today a $10 million extension to its Series C round, bringing its total to $50 million.

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In March, we reported that San Francisco-based Human Interest had closed on a $40 million Series C round just months after raising a $15.4 million Series B. The聽extension brings Human Interest鈥檚 total debt and (mostly) equity raised to just over $80 million since its April 2015 inception, according to 附近上门 .

led the extension, which was fueled by 鈥渟trong customer demand,鈥� according to the company.

I hopped on the phone with , CEO of Human Interest, who told me that the COVID-19 pandemic has only driven more interest in his startup鈥檚 offerings.

Human Interest鈥檚 digital retirement benefits platform allows users 鈥渢o launch a retirement plan in minutes and put it on autopilot,鈥� according to the company.聽 It currently provides retirement savings plans to over 2,200 companies and more than 100,000 employees.

Demand surge

With more people and companies seeking to save money amid the pandemic, Human Interest鈥檚 revenue over the past two months is up 鈥渢hree to four times鈥� compared to the same period last year, according to Schneble.

鈥淲e鈥檙e on track to have the highest sales months in the company鈥檚 history in May and June,鈥� he told 附近上门 News. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 good no matter what but doubly good given the fact our previous records were usually achieved in the fourth quarter with the second quarter historically being a slower period. 鈥�

Because Human Interest offers retirement benefits at 鈥渁 much lower cost鈥� than traditional 401(k) and 403(b) providers, many companies and people looking to save money have either switched plans or signed up for new accounts, Schneble said.

In fact, conversions historically made up about 15 percent of the company鈥檚 business but these days it鈥檚 more like one-third.

鈥淥ur product is resonating a lot right now as people try to save money,鈥� Schneble noted.

Also, with the stock market down, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a great time to launch a retirement plan and invest in the market at lower valuations for assets,鈥� he said.

Looking ahead

The company plans to use the new capital to double its engineering team by July 2020 in order to deepen the product鈥檚 technical lead and to make retirement benefits even more accessible to SMBs.

It currently has about 150 employees, having added 20 people in the last two months. The company has also implemented a 鈥淣o Layoff Pledge,鈥� saying it won鈥檛 lay off anyone this year.

principal at Glynn Capital, said in a statement that his firm believes Human Interest 鈥渋s taking an innovative approach to solving the lack of appropriate access to retirement savings, a major and growing issue.鈥�

Human Interest has chosen to partner with Glynn Capital and its previous lead investor, , because of the firms鈥� long-term approach to investing.

鈥淲e wanted to know that we鈥檇 have access to capital as long as we need it and even through an IPO,鈥� Schneble told 附近上门 News. 鈥淲e like that they have hold periods of 20 to 30 years.鈥�

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