Project management has become a hot segment of the enterprise software market, with many startups launching to foster collaboration, organize tasks and track progress. One such company, Clarizen, has distinguished itself by saying it gives executives real-time snapshots of projects and business operations -- essentially allowing them to check their company's pulse at any time.
Now the San Mateo, Calif. company has raised $8 million in a third round of funding to expand its customer base and capture more market share -- a sign that it is successfully carving out a niche for itself in an increasingly competitive space. And with players like Qtask, Plandone, Daptiv, Basecamp and even big guys like Microsoft -- with Outlook and MS Project -- in the mix, that's saying something.
Clarizen touts both its simplicity and ability to provide high-level visibility as reasons for its popularity. Serving 500 customers, including many small to medium-sized companies, it saw its sales spike 400 percent over the last year, and its client base grew by 100 between June and September alone. This growth, while positive, has forced the company to sprint to meet demand. It says the new funding should help ease the transition while adding new product features.
Clarizen's software, downloadable online, provides all employees with a single dashboard that summarizes the status of all ongoing projects, and includes all relevant documents and the ability to share data securely with others. This same home screen, tailored to each individual, provides a list of action items and feedback from others, so that it's always clear what needs to be accomplished, why and by when.
None of that sounds terribly unique, but when you add in Clarizen's ability to sync with Microsoft Outlook, as well as Autodesk and other CAD software packages -- necessary for engineering and design teams -- and its emphasis on providing both detailed and high-level progress updates, it seems like a good bet for companies looking for a simple, easily-installed workflow solution.
Clarizen's pricing plan is based on length of subscriptions and number of licenses. Customers can choose to buy 10, 11 to 30, or more than 31 licenses for anywhere between one to 24 months prepaid. The more months and licenses, the cheaper the monthly subscription fee. For example, more than 31 licenses for 24 prepaid months costs $24.95 a month. Buying only 10 licenses for a single prepaid month will cost $49.95. A free trial is also available.
The company has now raised $24 million, including a $9 million second round raised last May. The recent round was provided by DAG Ventures, Benchmark Capital and Carmel Ventures. It has 23 employees.