Grovo
| Founded | October 1, 2010 |
|---|---|
| CEO | Jeff Fernandez |
| Industry | learning technology |
| URL | www |
Grovo is a New York City-based technology company that provides a SaaS learning solution to improve and advance employee and organizational performance.[1]
History
Grovo was founded in 2010 by co-founders Jeff Fernandez, Nick Narodny, and Surag Mungekar.[2] Originally, it was a consumer-focused company delivering video training for digital skills.[3] Grovo shifted to a B2B SaaS model in early 2013 and focused on developing its microlearning platform, aiming to provide everything employees need to learn to do their best work.
Business Model
Grovo provides companies with a software-as-a-service learning solution.[2] Grovo refers to their approach as microlearning - 144-second video and audio lessons interspersed with short quizzes and practice assignments. Grovo’s microlearning library covers topics including digital skills, soft skills, management training, and HR/compliance training. Trainers and managers have access to a dashboard with Learning Management System tools and training analytics, as well as a client service team that aligns learning strategy to business goals.[4]
Investors and Funding
In May 2011 Grovo announced that it had closed its seed funding from Krishna “Kittu” Kolluri, general partner at New Enterprise Associates; Andy Dunn, CEO and Founder of Bonobos; Mareza Larizadeh of Larizadeh Capital Partners; and, others.[5]
On July 17, 2013, Grovo announced a $5.5 million Series A round of venture capital funding.[6][7] Greg Waldorf, CEO-in-residence at Accel Partners and founding investor and former CEO of e-Harmony, led the financing, which also included Jeff Clavier of SoftTech VC, Greg Sands of Costanoa Venture Capital, and Andy Dunn of Red Swan Ventures. Greg Waldorf joined the Board of Directors.[8]
On February 18, 2015, Grovo announced a $15 million Series B round from existing investors Accel Partners, Costanoa Venture Capital, Greg Waldorf and SoftTech VC.[2] The round closed on August 8, 2014. Accel's Sameer Gandhi joined Grovo's Board of Directors, along with Kirk Bowman.
On January, 2016, Grovo announced a $40 million Series C round led by Accel Partners with additional funding from previous backers Costanoa Venture Capital, SoftTech VC and Greg Waldorf, plus new investor Vayner Capital. To date, Grovo has raised a total of $65 million.[9]
Company Accolades
2014
Internet Week named Grovo the "Best Place to Work in New York City Tech".[10]
2015
CNN Money named Grovo one of the “30 Most Disruptive Upstarts”.[11]
Entrepreneur Magazine named the company one of the “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America”[12] and one of the “Best Company Cultures in 2015”.[13]
The company was named “New York Startup of the Year” by Tech.Co,[14] one of “NYC’s Hottest Startups” by Symmetry50,[15] and listed on the Crain’s New York Business Top 100 Best Places to Work 2015.[16]
CEO Jeff Fernandez has spoken about the company's culture at events including SXSW,[17] NewCo Festival New York, TEDx,[18] Internet Week,[19] and The Next Web Conference.
Grovo’s educational content and technology has been recognized with awards from Chief Learning Officer, Training Industry, and the ATD. Grovo was named one of the top learning management systems of 2015 by PCMagazine.[5]
2016
No.2 on Fortune’s 100 Best Medium Workplaces[20]
See also
Educational technology (e-learning)
External links
References
- ^ "Grovo Expands Platform Capabilities with New Features to Support Progressive Learning Programs at Scale". Yahoo Singapore Finance. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ a b c Ha, Anthony. "Grovo Raises $15M More To Help Businesses Train Their Employees With Bite-Sized Videos". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Online training site Grovo launches to help you demystify the Web". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Grovo LMS". PCMAG. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ a b Empson, Rip. "Grovo: Video Training Platform Grabs Funding To Help Startups Educate Their Users". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Grovo Raises $5.5M Series A to Teach Techie Skills (EdSurge News)". EdSurge. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Grovo, a "How-To" Video Company for Web Services and Apps, Raises $5.5 Million in Funding". AllThingsD. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Grovo Lands $5.5M Series A to Accelerate RealTime Internet Training". www.newsmaker.com.au. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ Ha, Anthony. "Grovo Raises $40M To Deliver Employee Training With Quick, Digestible Content". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Press Releases - Internet Week New York". internetweekny.com. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Grovo - Upstarts: The Idealists - CNNMoney". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ Staff, Entrepreneur (2015-10-07). "The Success Secrets That Helped the 'Best Practicers' Land on the Entrepreneur360". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ Staff, Entrepreneur (2015-11-04). "The 25 Best Large-Company Cultures in 2015". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Tech.Co Startup of the Year: Online Semifinalists". 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "The 34 Hottest Startups In NYC". Symmetry50. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ CrainsNewYork.com. "Crain's names 2015 Best Places to Work". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "The Millennials: Empowering a Modern Workforce". SXSW Schedule 2015. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ TEDx Talks (2015-08-13). "Learning in a Wired World | Jeff Fernandez | TEDxRVA". Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ InternetWeek (2015-06-25). "The Workplace Experience: Inspiring Talent Today and Tomorrow". Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ^ "Grovo". Fortune. 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2016-11-08.