The sales enablement scene is heating up, with local entrant Highspot announcing a $35 million Series C earlier today. The round more than doubles the company’s funding total, equipping it for rapid expansion over the coming 12 months.
Highspot Vice President of Marketing Jake Braly said the company would be hiring to double its headcount — currently hovering around 130 — over the next year. Funds will additionally be used to further product innovation and expand aggressively into new markets, including Asia-Pacific and Europe, he said.
“B2B buying is undergoing a significant transformation, and I believe Highspot is best equipped to take advantage of that market trend,” Braly said in an interview with Built In Seattle. “You absolutely have to have a great team and a great product, and Highspot [fires] on all of those cylinders.”
The Series C funding was led by Boston venture firm OpenView, with existing investors Madrona Venture Group, Salesforce Ventures and Shasta Ventures also participating. OpenView Partner Blake Bartlett will join Highspot’s board of directors as part of the funding.
B2B buying is undergoing a significant transformation, and I believe Highspot is best equipped to take advantage of that market trend.”
Founded in 2012 by Microsoft veterans Robert Wahbe, Oliver Sharp, David Wortendyke and Scott Gellock, Highspot is a sales enablement platform designed to help sales representatives find and present relevant content — pitch decks, product data sheets, brochures, third-party content and more — to help them pitch and close sales. Highspot’s platform offers sellers the ability to see how prospective buyers interact with that content, as well as “guided experiences” — interactive sales plays, sales communications and training to help reps prepare for meetings with prospects. Highspot integrates with more than 50 different platforms used by sales representatives, ranging from communication channels like Gmail, Outlook and social media to workaday tools like Salesforce.
“You can get the sales content you need right there inside a Salesforce opportunity record,” Braly said. “We’re not asking a seller to learn something new — we want to show up where they’re using their existing technology.
“Part of the reason we’re so different (from competitors) is that we’ve started with a problem in mind: A seller can’t find the content they need at the time they need it to be effective,” Braly continued. “Competitor solutions in this market started from a different place, either document generation scenarios or buyer engagement scenarios. They didn’t start with a core use case of giving sellers the right content at the right time.”
Like Highspot’s founding team, Braly is a Microsoft alum. After leaving the Redmond giant in 2012, Braly worked in marketing roles at K2 and Apptio before joining Highspot a year ago.
“When I look at my own job opportunities, I look at them from a venture capital mindset,” he said. “I look for a great team, phenomenal product and a great market opportunity. Highspot offers all of those.”
Highspot has closed $64 million in funding to date.
