A Milwaukee logistics and business management software firm raised far less capital than the $5 million to $10 million initially planned — and that’s a very positive sign, according to the firm’s CEO.
Renaissant Inc.’s Thomas Dean told the Business Journal in March 2022 the firm planned to seek $5 million to $10 million in Series A funding in early 2023. However, Renaissant announced May 11 closing a $1.5 million seed round led by Venture 53 with participation from TitletownTech and NFI Ventures.
Dean said in an interview Monday that company executives determined they didn’t need as much new capital as they anticipated a year ago for two reasons.
First, the company is generating more cash as a result of increasing revenue, Dean said.
Revenue has more than doubled so far in 2023 compared with the same period a year ago — and by the end of the second quarter, revenue will quadruple the year-end 2022 figure, he said. By year-end 2023, Renaissant will see “north of seven figures” in annual contracts for its software-as-a-service (SaaS), Dean said.
Second, Renaissant, which has an office in downtown Milwaukee, has scaled back hiring plans after determining its solutions need to be less complex than anticipated and therefore require less staffing, Dean said.
Despite trimming hiring plans, Renaissant will double its headcount from five to 10 by July 4, Dean said. The company is recruiting for an engineer, engineering sales staff and sales representatives, he said.
Renaissant provides a technology and data solution for the flow of trucks and trailers into and out of warehouse and distribution centers. The company says it bridges the gap between siloed warehouse management, yard operations and truck driver platforms.
Initially, Renaissant’s main focus was expediting check-in for truck drivers upon their arrival at warehouses and factories, Dean said. Now the company has extended its service to yard-management for trucks and trailers, he said.
Renaissant will use the new funds to grow its team while also looking to accelerate the firm's product-innovation pipeline.
Dean said he is pleased that Venture 53 is the lead investor in the latest capital round. The fund launched in Richmond and Atlanta in January 2022 with a focus on logistics.
TitletownTech is a venture capital partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft Corp. NFI Ventures was created by the Brown family, which owns NFI Industries, a Camden, New Jersey-based third-party-logistics firm.
In March 2022, Renaissant announced a $1.07 million capital raise consisting of $770,000 in equity investments from individuals and a $300,000 technology development loan from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
Originally founded in 2018 as IntelAegis, the startup rebranded as Renaissant in fall 2020 after shifting its focus from safety to logistics.
