Press Release
For Immediate Release
Brightpearl secures $1.5 million funding from Eden Ventures and Notion Capital for global expansion of cloud computing solution for SMEs
London, UK. 24th June, 2010 - Brightpearl, formerly known as Pearl, has secured funding from Eden Ventures and Notion Capital to support the rapid growth of its end-to-end web based solution for SMEs. The investment validates the company’s success in establishing its cloud computing solution as a disruptive new force in business software. The funding will enable the company to move ahead with its plans for larger global expansion. Brightpearl already has an established global customer base of small businesses in countries as diverse as China, India, South Africa, Spain and the United States.
The funding will allow Brightpearl to continue to advance rapidly its end-to-end platform which offers SMEs a fully integrated accounting, CRM, order and stock management, ecommerce, and helpdesk capability. Customers can use just one module or the whole platform, which is designed to integrate seamlessly with key Web services such as Gmail, Google Apps, MailChimp and many others. Brightpearl provides SMEs with a way to optimize their total business processes, generating significant time savings in management and administration.
“We were impressed by the quality of the Brightpearl product and by how easy it is to get started using it. Brightpearl hits the SMEs top need: reducing time spent on systems and admin, providing enormous and instant benefit to its customers,” comments Eden Ventures.
Founder and Head of Product for Brightpearl, Chris Tanner continues, “Our vision is that business owners should be able to focus their energies on running their businesses and not on integrating their information systems— when they add CRM to their accounts system or inventory management to their orders system, it should just work together as one seamless whole. “
Tanner, a serial entrepreneur, grew Bristol-based Brightpearl out of his first business, Lush Longboards, which he built from scratch into a leading manufacturer of skateboards. At Lush, Tanner experienced first-hand the challenge of running a small business with production and inventory while implementing and coordinating multiple different systems—CRM, accounts, and stock management. To solve the problem, Tanner created what became Brightpearl as an integrated platform for all aspects of a small business’ needs. He was joined in 2007 by co-founder Andrew Mulvenna, an experienced IT professional, who joined the team from Atos Origin.
According to Tanner, “This funding will allow us to continue to execute rapidly on our international vision, adding resources to enrich the product and to help us get the word out to more businesses. We’re excited to be working with the proven entrepreneurs at Eden and Notion to grow Brightpearl.”
“Brightpearl has the potential to take the market by storm. It offers a greatly simplified solution, integrating previously complicated and disparate technologies at the right price for small businesses to help them get up-and-running really quickly. And by taking advantage of cloud computing, it is opening to SMEs the technology benefits that were only previously available to larger companies due to economies of scale and the ubiquity of the internet, “comments Notion Capital.
Note to editors
Brightpearl, formerly known as Pearl, develops a leading end-to-end web based solution for SMEs that provides a fully integrated accounting, CRM, order and stock management, ecommerce and helpdesk capability. The Bristol-based British company was set up by Chris Tanner, serial entrepreneur, in 2007. Pearl is a privately owned business, funded by Eden Ventures and Notion Capital. Brightpearl’s board members include proven entrepreneurs and industry experts such as Doug Richard and Salman Manik. For further information please visit: www.brightpearl.com
Eden Ventures invests in technology companies in the telecommunications software, enterprise software, SaaS, digital media, e-commerce, Internet, social media and mobile sectors in Europe. As serial entrepreneurs, Eden’s partners bring the highest levels of expertise in building early stage technology companies. In addition Eden brings a strong investment track record, offering potential for high returns in this exciting sector. Eden adds significant sales and marketing, organizational and financial focus and capabilities to the existing inherent technology value of its portfolio members. For more information, please visit www.edenventures.co.uk.
Notion Capital is a venture fund and advisory business that invests in growth businesses in the IT sector, with a particular focus on Internet based services with recurring revenue models. Notion Capital creates value by helping companies and management teams to accelerate growth through financial injection combined with strategic and operational participation. The partners are all proven entrepreneurs and line executives, having founded and built a number of highly successful IT businesses. For more information please visit: www.notioncapital.com
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Jennings
Ballou PR
Email: sarahj@balloupr.com
Telephone: +44 (0) 7725 989 594
Notion Capital Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority
