MarginEdge Co., a Fairfax startup that runs a restaurant management platform, has raised an $18 million Series B funding round that just about doubles the firm's total raised to date.
The round was led by new investor Schooner Capital of Boston, and included follow-on investments from Osage Venture Partners; Relish Works, the venture arm of Gordon's Food Service; and Nigel Morris, British financier and co-founder of QED Investments and Capital One Financial Corp.
MarginEdge's platform allows clients to manage invoices and payments, track food and other costs — services that became more important as restaurants started reopening at vastly reduced capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic, MarginEdge co-founder Bo Davis said in a statement. The software also allows customers to store recipes, pay bills, automate invoices and integrate its data into a restaurant's point-of-sale system with the goal of increasing profitability.
The new funding will help MarginEdge grow its customer base and enhance its platform, according to a press release.
MarginEdge has raised more than $35 million since its founding in 2015, it says, including $4 million in late 2020. After a disrupted 2020 for the restaurant industry, the company has also continued its growth in 2021; it had surpassed its pre-pandemic growth metrics by November 2020, Davis told the Washington Business Journal at the time. The company, which is not yet profitable, finished 2020 with $3.5 million in revenue and expects to finish 2021 with $10 million, it said.
In November, MarginEdge said it had more than 1,500 restaurant clients in 37 states. That has grown to 2,400 restaurants in 47 states today, it said in its announcement. MarginEdge has 300 employees in five countries and 29 states.
Virginia Tech breaks ground on Alexandria campus
Officials from Virginia Tech, the city of Alexandria and Potomac Yard landlord JBG Smith Properties (NYSE: JBGS) ceremonially broke ground on the university's new Alexandria campus Tuesday.
Though site work has been underway at the Potomac Yard site that will house the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, Tuesday's event marked the beginning of construction of the first academic building that will rise there. The 300,000-square-foot building will be the first of three on the 3.5-acre graduate campus focused on computer science.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson, Virginia Tech officials and campus Executive Director Lance Collins were among those putting gold shovels in the dirt at the event. Collins spoke with the Washington Business Journal's Hannah Denham last week about how hiring is proceeding for the campus. The campus is expected to enroll up to 750 master's and doctoral students by 2028, but could house between 3,000 and 5,000 full- and part-time students when fully up and running.
Quotable
“If you don’t want to get vaccinated, then … we don’t want you working for us. I’m OK saying that. It’s hard to say. But I think we have to say [it], and this is about health and safety.” — Montgomery County Councilman Hans Riemer, D-At large, at a Tuesday council meeting discussing a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for Montgomery County employees, according to Bethesda Magazine. Councilman Will Jawando agreed with Reimer’s sentiments. The county is currently gathering vaccination data on its employees, according to the report. It had previously reached an agreement with unions on weekly testing for those who do not to get vaccinated.
The big number
$3.6 million — Amount of a settlement between D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine's office and ticket reseller StubHub Inc., after Racine launched an investigation into why people who bought tickets through StubHub to events that ended up being canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic were allegedly denied refunds.
Odds and ends
- George Washington University said it plans to deploy workers into residence halls following a bevy of complaints from students who say they’ve found mold in their dorm rooms. (Washington Post)
- Amazon.com Inc. said it plans to add 125,000 employees in the U.S. and open another 100 facilities across the country this month. It also said it has lifted its average starting wage for warehouse workers to $18.32 an hour. (Wall Street Journal)
- Harris Teeter is reducing its hours at all of its stores, citing a labor shortage. (The Virginian-Pilot)
- A metering system on 23 ramps on southbound Interstate 270 goes into effect Wednesday in an effort to reduce congestion and increase safety. (WTOP)
- Rockville brewery 7 Locks has changed the name of one of its beers, formerly called Surrender Dorothy, after the media company that owns "The Wizard of Oz" took legal action. (Washington Post)
