Happied Raises $1.6M to Supercharge Employee Engagement with Data

The startup secured funding from HearstLab and others to help employers mitigate turnover.

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA, July 25, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Happied, a software platform for ideating, planning, and executing employee engagement through events, has successfully closed a $1.6M fundraising round to extend their impact reversing the resignation and disengagement trends that are rising across a wide range of companies globally.

Happied, the creation of co-founders CEO April Johnson and COO Sharon Cao, allows teams to outsource every aspect of social events to a professional team, much like they would the construction of a CRM to a SaaS platform. Happied accomplishes this through the use of automated technology and an exceptional team of event hosts. Users provide data to Happied about their team or group and their analysis curates a selection of fitting events that can be easily booked, scheduled, communicated and tracked through the platform.

All Happied’s event offerings are vetted and subsequently reviewed post-event for satisfaction tracking. According to Gallup poll findings published in Forbes, teams with high engagement see 59% less employee turnover and a 21% increase in profitability. Happied collects performance metrics through integrated feedback loops, which allow them to fine-tune which events they suggest to each team, as well as give teams transparency on the ROI for each event.

Investors have been quick to see the value of Happied. "As co-founder of a tech scale-up, I have firsthand experience of how difficult it is to properly invest in engagement through social events,” says a representative from Omnidollar, an industry agnostic venture syndicate that participated in the raise. “Most founders have no idea how big they are missing by under-investing in this key area. As a result of my experience, I was quickly aligned on April and Sharon's vision for the company which made it an incredibly easy decision for Omnidollar to partner with this brilliant team."

Happied has worked with over 180 customers to date, including enterprise companies like Google, Disney, Twitter, and Deloitte. Happied’s customers report that the platform eliminates administrative burden, saves unnecessary costs, and generates organic engagement.

Happied is the 43rd startup to join the HearstLab portfolio, gaining access to its unique mentorship and support resources. “HearstLab is a perfect partner for Happied,” says Johnson. “Scaling a technology company takes more than just financial capital. HearstLab is one of the few venture partners to get this right by providing dedicated resources to its portfolio companies, working alongside founders and getting into the weeds to provide unparalleled support.”

“We are delighted to welcome Happied to HearstLab and look forward to helping this innovative company reimagine how in-person and virtual events are planned and executed at scale. Their platform helps companies delight and inspire employees and clients as they create new definitions of community that help retain talent and increase sales” says Eve Burton, Hearst EVP and HearstLab Chairwoman. “April and Sharon bring an inventive curiosity and technical precision to the events industry, which we believe they are perfectly suited to transform.”

HearstLab leverages the significant resources of the Hearst Corporation to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for female founders. In 2021, roughly 2% of all venture funding went to women-led companies, with an even smaller fraction going to women of color. “Many corporations talk-the-talk about their efforts to bridge the gap for women (specifically of color) in the tech space, but few actually put money and resources towards it,” says Cao. “That’s why we are thrilled to partner with HearstLab — their authenticity and eagerness to support us shines through everything they do.”

Happied’s raise also included participation from Palo Alto-based tech investor True Ventures as well as Alumni Ventures’ AVG Basecamp and Washington D.C.-based High Street Equity Partners. "We're excited to invest in Happied and support April's vision,” says Mitch Brooks, Managing Partner at High Street. “We are truly impressed with April and Sharon, their team, and their plans for the future." The funding will allow Happied to further build out and refine their platform, expand their repertoire of event offerings, and activate their growing repository of feedback data to provide insights that nurture team engagement.

About Happied:
Happied is revolutionizing the way companies engage their teams, clients and communities by creating exceptional experiences backed by data, with just a few clicks. We believe every event should be one worth attending, and are using technology to build crave-worthy experiences that take all of the work off of your in-house staff, freeing you up to better serve your customers.

About HearstLab:
HearstLab provides cash investments and services to early-stage, women-led startups innovating across fintech, data analytics, health, transportation, enterprise technology and media. Its mission is to close the gap in VC funding for women by helping founders build sustainable and highly scalable businesses. With access to Hearst resources across 360+ businesses, HearstLab’s breadth of services includes assistance with privacy and security, software development, legal services, financial analysis, and marketing and design support. To learn more about HearstLab, visit HearstLab.com and connect with us on LinkedIn.

Michael Maerlender
HearstLab
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Twitter
LinkedIn

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.