Juristat, which has developed software that provides statistical analysis for patent applications, has expanded its staff and leadership team after receiving additional funding from an investor.
The company hired three new executives, including to fill two new leadership roles, and has added features to its offerings following a "substantial" private equity investment from New York-based MBM Capital, according to a recent press release. Details of the deal weren't disclosed, but a spokesperson confirmed it was MBM's second investment in Juristat. The private equity firm's initial investment in the tech company was announced in January.
Founded in 2013, Juristat provides data analytics technology to predict patent examiner behavior as well as workflow automation software that uses artificial intelligence to complete administrative tasks related to patent filings. The company says its client list includes over one-third of the top 100 patent law firms, as well as tech businesses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Lenovo.
The company said it hired Francesca Cruz, who brings over a decade of experience in developing commercial teams in the software-as-a-service sector, in the newly created post of Juristat's senior vice president of revenue. Cruz most recently was chief customer officer of Greenlight Guru, a provider of quality management system software for the med-tech industry, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Juristat said it also hired Erin Barry as its new senior director of customer success. She also came to the company from Greenlight Guru, where she most recently was director of customer success. Barry succeeds Conner Kerrigan, who held the title director of client success before he left Juristat in January to become director of communications for St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones.
The company said it also hired Natalie Dickson in the newly created post of vice president of finance to streamline its processes while continuing to strengthen Juristat’s financial position. She most recently was director of finance at Chicago-based Chowly Inc., a software developer for the restaurant industry.
When MBM's initial investment in Juristat was announced in January, Juristat founder and CEO Drew Winship said the funding would be used to add staff both in St. Louis and across the U.S., and projected increasing its then 50-person headcount by 50% in 2024.
Juristat has been "actively hiring" and has increased its employee count by 20% since the start of this year, a spokesperson told the Business Journal earlier this month.
“We’ve already doubled the size of our customer success team as part of our commitment to delivering a best-in-class experience,” Cruz said in the recent press release. “Now, we’re launching a series of innovative features that are doubling our workflow capacity and reimagining patent analytics.”
According to the spokesperson, Juristat's "go-to-market team" that supports current and potential customers has doubled, and the company expects additional hiring for that team "in the coming months." In addition to adding Cruz and Barry, the team has added account managers, customer success managers and a revenue operations manager, the spokesperson said.
“We're thrilled to welcome Francesca, Natalie and Erin to Juristat's leadership team as part of our overall strategy to enhance our already industry-leading patent analytics products," Arun Mittal, managing partner at MBM Capital, said in the release. Mittal also is Juristat's chairman as of January, according to his LinkedIn profile.
MBM says it focuses on investing in companies that have formerly been supported with venture capital, targeting companies in the financial technology, human resources technology, data/SaaS and e-commerce industries.
Juristat's previous financing includes a $2.4 million funding round in 2019 led by St. Louis-based Arsenal Capital Management.
