INSIGHTS / News

Just months after sealing a deal with internet giant, eBay, SETsquared company, Brightpearl, has raised another $10m in investment.

It’s the latest victory in the company’s ongoing tale of success and means the software firm has now raised a total of $24m in funding.

Brightpearl was founded in 2007 by Chris Tanner and Andrew Mulvenna. Some 18 months later, in search of help with scaling the business and dealing with investors, it joined the University of Bristol’s SETsquared centre.

It has since gone on to achieve incredible growth, now employing over 80 people, working with the likes of eBay and Amazon and having its own base in the USA.

Reflecting on the support SETsquared has given Brightpearl over the years, Andrew Mulvenna, co-founder and VP of partnerships, said: “The most important help from SETsquared was access to mentors that could advise us in different areas. Some external people were brought in ad hoc, but it was the SETsquared people who really made the difference.

“SETsquared’s training has been central to our securing of funding over the years. We got $1.5m in our seed round, which was due to Nick Sturge helping us to negotiate and increase the valuation.”

Brightpearl’s latest funding injection, led by new investor MMC Ventures, alongside participation from Quayle Munro and existing investors Eden Ventures and Notion Capital, will be used to invest in its product and expand sales.

“Brightpearl is at an exciting inflection point, and we are laying the groundwork for massive growth and scale,” said Salman Malik, chief executive officer of Brightpearl.  “Our business has been doubling; with more than 1,300 retailers on our platform, we’ve developed a deep understanding of customer needs, have a clear vision for platform enhancements and a strategy in place for optimizing our go-to-market initiatives.”

Nick Stuge, centre director at Bristol, commented: “It’s been a privilege working with Andrew and Chris from the very early days and seeing this global business emerge. Now one of our Alumni members, we continue to support the team – and also learn from their experiences to assist other companies coming through.”

Want to know more about the secret behind Brightpearl’s growth? Watch this video of directors talking about how the company has sky rocketed with help from SETsquared over the last seven years.