A Sarasota SaaS company focusing on the flooring industry is using a $60 million investment to acquire companies across the nation.
Broadlume recently announced it had previously raised the Series C in July 2021, entirely led by PSG, a Boston-based growth equity firm.
Todd Saunders told Tampa Bay Inno he wanted to go public with the raise to showcase just how “all-in” they are with the industry.
He used the funding to fuel five acquisitions in the last year, with plans to acquire one to two more companies next year.
“We wanted to get out there with the right story and website and the name of Broadlume,” he said, acknowledging the company has been largely under-the-radar since its launch. “Our mantra is, ‘Put your head down and build, and good things happen.’”
He launched the company as an adtech startup, but after acquiring Sarasota-based FloorForce in 2017, he pivoted to focus solely on the flooring industry. The company offers a SaaS product for flooring retailers to streamline operations and boost profits.
“These are the retailers that, before us, had no tech at all,” Saunders said. “But we’re helping them compete with big box stores.”
While Saunders resides in New York City, the company’s headquarters is in Sarasota.
“We were ahead of the curve having offices in places people wanted to move to,” he said, adding that the region has a strong design talent pipeline. “Sarasota is growing rapidly, and when you think about remote work, it’s less if they want to be remote and more about work-life balance. And what better lifestyle than Sarasota?”
The company’s 180 employees are split, with half working locally in Sarasota and the remainder working remotely across the nation.
Saunders’ goal is to have roughly 5,000 independent flooring retailers use Broadlume’s technology by the end of next year – a sizable chunk of his estimated 15,000 retailers. There are also plans to break into the fintech space, although he stayed quiet on those details.
As for a Series D raise, he said there are no solid plans for the future — but added when they acquire more companies, that requires more capital.
Whether he plans to follow in other serial entrepreneurs’ footsteps who sell a company as it hits an inflection point, Saunders said he has more work to do.
“There’s more to this than selling it; we’re revolutionizing an industry,” he said. “We see our investors, we see this massive opportunity, but we’re climbing Everest. We’re changing an industry, and that takes time — there’s no amount of marketing dollars or employees or software you can have to change the mindset of an industry.”
