Here's the pitch deck that email startup Front used to get get top tech execs like Zoom CEO Eric Yuan to invest in its $59 million Series C round
- Front is taking a team based approach to email and combines a company's social media, email, texts and other messages into a shared inbox that an entire team has access to.
- It just raised $59 million in Series C funding in a slightly unusual round that included leading software executives from Zoom, Atlassian, Okta and Qualtrics.
- Here's the pitch deck Front used to convince execs like Zoom CEO Eric Yuan to participate.
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Email is used in just about every workplace, in just about every industry. Email startup Front wants to change how people use their work email, and in the process take on heavyweights like Microsoft Outlook and Gmail.
Front CEO Mathilde Collin thinks the goal is broader than just changing email - it's about changing how people work. And she and her team just got a huge vote of confidence from several prominent software executives in the tech industry, who also focus on the future of work.
Earlier this week Front announced that it raised $59 million in Series C funding, in the round a little bit different than most. It included funding from industry leaders similarly focused on the future of work, including Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, whose videoconferencing startup skyrocketed after seeing one of the most successful public debuts last year.
In addition to Yuan, executives from Okta, Atlassian, and Qualtrics participated. That includes Atlassian co-CEO and cofounder Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian President Jay Simons, Okta COO and cofounder Frederic Kerrest, Qualtrics cofounder and CEO Ryan Smith, and Qualtrics co-founder and CTO Jared Smith.
"If you're doing a software company or thinking about the future of work, I don't think you can pick a bigger market than email," Collin told Business Insider.
Collin said before this round, she didn't know it was possible to fundraise this way, but she'd been in touch with several of those executives for years and all had shown interest in Front. What appealed to them was the sheer size of the market Front is going after, she says.
Front takes a team-based approach to email. It combines a company's social media, email, texts and other messages into a shared inbox that an entire team has access to. The goal is to make it easier to work together and communicate with customers.
Although the company declined to share a specific number, it said its valuation has grown four-fold from its last round 2 years ago. It now claims 5,500 customers, including companies like MailChimp, Y Combinator, Shopify, Cisco Meraki, eTix, and Stripe.
Here is the pitch deck Front used to sign companies on for its Series C round: