Smedvig Capital lead $10m Series A investment in proSapient to accelerate growth and international expansion
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Today we are excited to announce our investment in proSapient, the expert network and primary research platform. We first started speaking to the Founders, Margo and Jordan, in 2019 and recently led the $10m Series A round along with Guy Hands and existing investors 24 Haymarket.
Background
proSapient is an emerging expert network that is using technology to improve on the traditional expert network service. The service connects private equity funds and consulting firms to high volumes of subject-matter experts at short notice. proSapient is building on the traditional service through value-add front-end features to improve the user experience, and back-end technology to improve the speed and accuracy of finding relevant experts.
Since launch, proSapient have begun working with many of the largest users of expert networks in the market. They have continued to grow rapidly in 2020 despite the slowdown in market activity earlier in the year and are currently servicing over 100 clients across Europe and the USA, with revenue up over 100% year on year.
Why proSapient and why now?
The rationale behind our investment can be boiled down to 7 key reasons:
1) It is a large and growing industry…
2) …which provides a service that is mission critical to its customers
3) There has been limited innovation in the sector over the last decade
4) proSapient is the most innovative provider in the market, with technology at its core…
5) …and is providing a market leading service to customers…
6) …which is driving rapid growth
7) Margo and Jordan are exceptional founders and understand their market inside out
What’s next?
The funding will accelerate proSapient’s international expansion as well as support the roll out of their workflow SaaS platform which helps solve a major pain point for users of expert networks, using multiple networks simultaneously. Robert Toms and Freddie Kalfayan will be supporting them from Smedvig’s end.
Co-Founders Margo Polishchuk and Jordan Shlosberg commented on the investment:
Margo: “Securing backing from an institutional investor like Smedvig Capital and the founder of one of Europe’s prominent private equity firms is a resounding validation of the unique offering proSapient provides its customers. This funding round will facilitate our strategic objective of being a leading primary research platform for the private equity and consulting sectors.”
Jordan: “We created proSapient to address the need of investors and consultants to access high-quality experts and primary research. The platform has developed into a single point of primary research that is easy to use and allows our clients to quickly access the best research, whilst managing diligence projects and collaborating with colleagues. We are delighted to welcome Smedvig and Guy Hands as investors and to appoint Mike Wroe as Chairman.”
We are very excited to be working with Margo and Jordan to continue their impressive growth. They have a great team, strong market position and clear vision of where the business is going. We are looking forward to working together closely to build the next generation of expert network — watch this space!
Read the full release in TechCrunch, here.
