As many companies continue to look for tech tools to help meet the challenges of remote work, a Frisco-based startup has landed new funding to get its software into more hands.
Apty, a training and management software adoption company, announced closing in $5.4 million post-seed funding. The round was led by Companyon Ventures and joined by Gaingels, Mediaapps, MyAsia and Creative Co Capital.
Prior to the pandemic hitting the U.S., Apty had raised part of the $5.4 million from a raise led by Reformation Partners.
“The disruptions caused by the pandemic highlighted the need for optimizing how companies do work and use software,” Krishna Dunthoori, Apty founder and CEO, told NTX Inno via email. “Apty helps with both, so in a way, COVID made it more obvious how our product could help companies.”
With the new funding, Apty is planning to add about 20-30 new positions to its already 55-person team early next year, largely in the areas of product development, sales and customer services. And Dunthoori said the company will likely be looking to be hiring more later on in 2021.
The company is also planning to use the funding to increase its market presence, while also adding more features to its software and more customer support.
Founded in 2017, Apty’s tech helps onboard new employees by training them to use enterprise software by giving on-screen guidance to users. Prior to 2019, the company was called letzNav, rebranding as it added features to its platform, including AI-powered analytics and business process automation capabilities.
“letzNav answered the ‘how’ in how do you get people to actually use an application effortlessly. With the launch of Apty, we'll be adding new features designed to help you answer who needs help,” Dunthoori said in a statement at the time.
With the pandemic accelerating the adoption and use of remote working tools, Apty is planning to add new features to its offering, including ones that allow admins to track areas where employees are struggling or excelling at learning the company’s enterprise software.
“With everyone working remotely, it makes training employees on new software more difficult. Classroom and video training was not engaging or effective before COVID. The switch to telecommuting only made it worse,” Dunthoori said. “We’re finding that customers are relying on Apty more and more to help train and support their remote workers.”
And Dunthoori said he thinks the pandemic will continue to create a larger need for tools like Apty. The closing of this round marks the first outside funding for the company. Previously, the company had been bootstrapped and funded through some well-known clients like local cosmetics giant Mary Kay and Hitachi. Dunthoori said he believes now was the right time to bring in outside capital, hoping it helps Apty become an industry leader rather than a boutique product.
“The digital adoption solutions category is still evolving but more companies are realizing the valuable impact our product can have,” Dunthoori said. “Companies are investing in more software than ever before and most of it ends up as shelfware. The impact I hope I have is to eliminate the waste and help companies get work done quickly and efficiently in a changing world.”
