Speakfully, an Eau Claire startup that makes a private workplace reporting platform, was acquired by the human resources software company HR Acuity. The Monday announcement did not disclose the terms of the deal.
Jana Morrin, the startup's CEO, founded Speakfully in 2018 after experiencing workplace harassment firsthand. Her co-founders are Nandini Easwar, who serves as Speakfully's chief technology officer, and Eau Claire entrepreneur Zach Halmstad.
In a Monday post on LinkedIn, Morrin said the Speakfully team didn't expect an acquisition to happen as soon as it did and noted that being part of a larger HR solution would help get Speakfully's product "in front of as many employees as quickly as possible."
It's the second startup exit for Halmstad, who previously co-founded the Apple enterprise management software company Jamf Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: JAMF), which went public in July 2020.
"Success tends to breed success and sometimes teach or mentor success," Wisconsin Technology Council president Tom Still said. "When investors and potential acquirers look at a company, they want to look at some people in the leadership who have been there, done that."
HR Acuity was founded in 2009 and has its headquarters in Florham Park, New Jersey. It ranked on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies, reporting 254% revenue growth between 2018 and 2021. It has raised at least $47 million from investors, according to the company.
Companies including General Mills, Verizon and Chick-fil-A are among more than 240 customers that use HR Acuity's software, which is built for employee relations and investigations management.
"Creating a transparent and trusted relationship between employees and their employer has never been more critical," HR Acuity CEO Deb Muller said in a Monday statement. "Speakfully is the best solution I have seen when it comes to ensuring an employee's voice is heard when something goes wrong."
Speakfully participated in the 2021 cohort of gener8tor's Milwaukee equity accelerator program, which comes with a $100,000 investment. Other investors include Milwaukee angel investor Jennifer Abele.
"This is one of the most personally meaningful angel investments I’ve made," Abele wrote on LinkedIn Monday.
Speakfully was among Wisconsin Inno's 10 startups to watch in 2022 and was recently on American Inno's first national startups to watch list.
