Developed by Andy Grove at Intel in the 1970s, OKR is now one of the most popular management methodologies. OKR, which stands for “objectives and key results,” helps companies achieve goals, including financial and operational targets. At places with a lot of employees, however, it can be hard to make sure everyone is on the same page. Profit.co wants to keep teams connected with a platform that helps businesses visualize OKR planning, review and execution.
Headquartered in Fremont, California, with offices in Singapore, India and Japan, Profit.co announced today it has raised $11 million led by Elevation Capital. The company says it has grown nine times in annual recurring revenue over the past two years. Profit.co’s SaaS platform is used by more than 1,100 customers in 25 countries, including Deckers Brand, Sandvik, Deriv, Singapore’s Open Government and Phoenix Rescue Mission.
Before founding Profit.co in 2018, CEO Bastin Gerald worked at companies ranging from startups like Cashedge and Apptivo to large enterprises like Oracle. During his career, Gerald encountered different ways of managing and implementing strategies for businesses and clients. He told TechCrunch that businesses of all sizes were eager to adopt methods and products to track their priorities, but had trouble implementing them. While working at Apptivo, Gerald created an implementation model that he realized had the potential to reach a wider audience. This grew into Profit.co.
Companies often use spreadsheets, presentation slides and non-OKR-focused project management software to execute their OKRs, but that makes it harder for businesses to keep up with their plans as they grow and add employees. It also means team members and leaders have trouble seeing exactly how much work other teams are putting into projects.
Other OKR platforms include Microsoft’s Ally.io, Workboard and Gtmhub, but Gerald said Profit.co differentiates by using the PEEL (plan, execute, engage and learn) method for its five key modules.
The first is the strategy module, which helps businesses create a one- to five-year high-level plan. Then the tasks module lets them manage daily tasks, while the OKR module, which supports meetings, bridges the gap between long-term strategies and daily tasks. The final two modules are focused on individual performance: the employee development module includes employee performance assessment and improvement, while the employee engagement module lets them report and get recognized for their accomplishments (a gifting platform will be added to it next month).
Profit.co integrates with Slack, Jira, Salesforce, HubSpot and Oracle, and while OKR is its default methodology, it can also be used with other ones, including SMT. Most of its customers have at least 100 employees, and come from a wide range of sectors, including financial services, telecom, manufacturing, retail, tech and government organizations.
Examples of how companies have used the platform include REHAU, a polymer business with more than 20,000 employees that started Profit.co when it began adopting OKRs. Profit.co helped it increase transparency among employees in different departments. Another is online trading platform Deriv, which used Profit.co to keep teams updated on each other’s targets and progress while scaling up to 1,000 employees in 50 countries.
Profit.co monetizes by charging per user and also offers coaching and consulting services for businesses working on large-scale transformation projects. Part of its funding will be used on product development, including adding 30 new product categories.
In a statement about the funding, Elevation Capital principal Akarsh Shrivastava said, “As teams within organizations become more niche with time, it becomes imperative for business leaders to have a reliable and comprehensive view of whether targets are being met. Profit.co is superbly filling this gap through a combination of deep technical knowledge and a sharp understanding of organizational needs.”
What can the OKR software sector tell us about startup growth more generally?
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