Compliance services startup Ethix360 finished up its Series A round this week, led by venture capital firm Early Light Ventures.
Ethix360, founded in 2017 by J Rollins and Bob Latchford, provides comprehensive solutions to employee ethics communication, case management, compliance training and policy management.
Rollins said this most recent funding closed the company's $3 million Series A round, which began last year. Ethix360 raised a $1 million convertible note last April as part of the round. In addition to Early Light, Blu Ventures, another previous investor of the startup, contributed to the round.
"Last year, right about this time, we were supposed to close our Series A, but the day of the closing was the day Covid shut everything down, and the VC backed out," he said. "That's when we went and did the convertible note with the plan to get that money in and go back later to finish up the round."
Rollins said they will use the new money to accelerate sales and marketing efforts and continue to grow the development team. He said the startup is looking to hire new positions this year.
"This is really going to get us back to where we were before the Covid pause," he said. "We knew we would get there, and here's why: The lead investor on this round is an early investor of ours. They've been part of every funding opportunity we've had."
Scott Garber, managing partner at Early Light Ventures, said the firm is excited to lead the round.
"The team and the opportunity exemplifies everything we look for [here]," he said in a statement. "CaseTrac is a need-to-have product with a growing market need, and though the team has plenty of experience, they also have the tenacity and drive of an underdog. PolicyTrac also promises to really rev up their growth in 2021 and adds another essential tool for their large, existing client base."
Rollins said the Ethix360 team is expecting continued and rapid growth in 2021, which the funding will only amplify.
"We think we'll get back to our historic growth rates," he said. "The year started out fantastic in terms of revenue growth, new client acquisition and renewals. All of our numbers are very positive."
Though the Ethix360 team had to wait a year to close the round, Rollins said 2020 turned out to be a mostly positive experience. The company grew by 35%, including an increase in customer business and the hiring of new employees. Most importantly, perhaps, was relocating the headquarters to a larger space off Crownpoint Executive Drive in Charlotte.
"Our prior office was in no condition to be reopened. We wanted to do this right and put our people first," he said. "The new office has an upgraded [HVAC] system and much more space so when we do have people come back, they come back to a safe environment."
The startup has 22 employees in its Charlotte office, and Rollins said the office is at 20% capacity with only those in critical, security-related roles working in-person.
