A digital platform helping founders and businesses plan their exits raised capital this week. The amount is undisclosed.
Capitaliz, an Australian-based startup with a U.S. HQ in Denver, is a tool that determines a privately owned business’s valuation and helps create a roadmap for a successful exit. The platform is primarily built for advisors, including financial planners, lawyers, accountants and registered investment advisors, who assist with mid-market exits.
Backed with fresh capital, Capitaliz plans to further scale into the Americas and Europe and enhance its platform. The recent round was led by Madison Marcus, a law firm in Australia.
One new tool already available on Capitaliz is the integration of environmental, social and governance data provided by Madison Marcus.
"By integrating ESG considerations into its comprehensive valuation methodology, Capitaliz is sending a clear message to all businesses, irrespective of size or industry, that ESG factors play a significant role in determining overall value,” Eric Boone, a lead partner of the Madison Marcus's ESG and sustainability division and new Capitaliz board member, said in a statement.
Capitaliz also plans to offer additional integrations with accounting vendors, including application planning interfaces to connect tech stacks and more easily retrieve up-to-date financial information. Other plans include improving the platform’s user experience.
"Our product roadmap is focused on delivering the best experience for our users and as such, we are constantly in touch with them to understand how we can improve Capitaliz,” Craig West, founder of Capitaliz, said in an email.
Capitaliz quietly opened its U.S. headquarters in Denver last year at coworking space Galvanize, 1644 Platte St. The company has eight employees, about half of which are based in Denver, but is looking to grow. It plans to add to its financial and client management teams.
West started Capitaliz in April 2020 after helping founders plan their exits and finding only a handful of tools available to evaluate and capitalize on a business's success and valuation.
To solve this gap in the market, West first founded an Australian-based business advisory and exit planning firm called Succession Plus. But he needed a way to scale his reach and platform. So, he founded the digital platform Capitaliz, which is now used by Succession Plus.
The platform evaluates seven areas of a business and the market to determine the business’s current value and its potential value. These areas include a business’s financials, foundation and strategic value, in addition to business insights and how the company compares to other similar brands.
“Using the aggregated data across all businesses using the platform, Capitaliz is uniquely positioned to accurately predict value potential by business, by industry or by country,” West said. “Captializ’s insights and valuation tools allow business owners to identify current valuation and key actions to accelerate business value.”
Once a value and potential value is determined, the business goes through a 21-step improvement process.
West declined to say how much capital Capitaliz has raised to date but said the company's first raise came from existing Succession Plus shareholders and clients in 2020.
