Venture Wave Capital, a venture firm operating out of Leinster, Ireland, has led a €3 million seed raise for the Irish team collaboration software startup PepTalk, whose other backers include Enterprise Ireland and UK VC Haatch.
Founded by cousins duo James and Bernard Brogan, PepTalk believes it's managed to nail down the "team experience" in collaboration software.
Behavioural scientists inspired its software from the ground up, PepTalk says, allowing team leaders and employees to identify better habits for productivity and forging team-wide engagement.
Key features in the PepTalk suite include personal development tracking, manager team talks, real-time analytics and gamified experiences for colleagues.
Indeed team talks are hardwired in PepTalk's founding DNA. Co-founder Bernard Brogan was president of the federation of Irish sport from 2014 to 2018, and, in his own decorated career, he won the national league in Gaelic football seven times.
PepTalk currently has 23 full-time employees and aims to double its growth in the next year, hiring 12 new workers across sales, marketing and technology. Its clients include the US telecoms giant Verizon, online payments facilitator PayPal and card transactions processor Elavon.
Content with the delivery of PepTalk's product, CEO James Brogan believes the alliance with VentureWave will prepare the ground for US expansion.
VentureWave managing partner Brian Martin will join the PepTalk board of directors, while James is set for a move stateside, directing the US operation from its newly-opened NY offices.
"We are a mission driven business, and it is unique to find an investor that aligns so strongly with our own values," James Brogan said.
Another company already using PepTalk's software is Ireland's Allied Irish Banks, which claims 82% of operators reported better "connection" with their colleagues.
AIB bought the product as it needed to respond to the onset of COVID 19 in early 2020. With its workers stuck at home, the company felt it risked a "sudden loss of community."
PepTalk's software now acts as AIB's "action driven" mobile community hub helping to "maintain social cohesion."
Welcoming news of PepTalk's fundraise, Ireland's deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said: "It's great to see an Irish start-up doing so well and experiencing strong growth, with plans well under way to grow its workforce over the next 12 months.
"The opening of the new base in the US provides a great opportunity to introduce and embed their unique product offering amongst blue-chip companies in global markets and is a massive step forward on their growth journey."
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