When Inventa sees a good opportunity to grab some extra capital, it takes it. However, as you will see, it is on a trajectory of fast growth, and not unlike other startups, the new capital is to pave the way for that to continue.
The Brazil-based company offers a digital marketplace to connect small and medium-sized companies with suppliers to discover and purchase new inventory. Its technology aims to provide an easier purchasing process for small businesses by recommending products based on actual transaction data and then also providing credit, in 30-, 60- and 90-day increments, to retailers. On the supplier side, they can upload products, manage pricing and see what is selling and what isn’t.
We first profiled Inventa, co-founded by Marcos Salama, Fernando Carrasco and Laura Camargo, in January when it raised $20 million in Series A financing, led by Andreessen Horowitz and Monashees. That capital had come just three months after a $5.5 million seed round.
At the time of the Series A, CEO Salama told TechCrunch Inventa was growing 100% month over month. Since January, he revealed that Inventa essentially doubled its metrics, going from 400 brands, 7,000 products and 20,000 stores to 800 brands, 18,000 products and more than 40,000 stores.
It also grew its headcount from around 100 to over 250 people, and brought on some key executives, including a head of data, head of engineering and head of product.
“We have doubled down on both the company and our engineering team; we now have around 90 people, many of whom have done this before,” Salama said. “We are going to maintain our strategy of helping suppliers and retailers have a better life.”
Looking to leverage that growth, Inventa has now completed a $55 million Series B round — its third round in the 12 months since Inventa was founded in 2021. Greylock led the round and was joined by Greenoaks, Andreessen Horowitz, Monashees, Founders Fund, Tiger Global, NXTP, ONEVC, MAYA, Pear VC, Avenir Growth and A* Capital. This brings the company’s total fundraising to date to $80 million.
Inventa currently focuses on the categories of cosmetics, healthy foods and home decor, but the new funding enables it to add some new categories that customers have been asking for, including accessories, jewelry and pets. And, after establishing a footprint in Brazil, the company is accelerating its international expansion to Mexico and Colombia later this year.
Much of the company’s growth is organic, driven in part by the company’s referral program where brands can recommend their customers to the site and earn $50 for every customer that makes their first purchase, Salama says. Referrals are also how new suppliers are added — a retailer will recommend a supplier they use, and after the supplier is brought on board, the supplier is introduced to new retailers using Inventa.
Next up, Salama wants to bring on a head of credit in the next six months to round out the leadership team.
“At the end of the day, most retailers in Latin America don’t have a credit card, and we are already giving them a flexible payment option, but as we grow, there is a lot more to be done there and done better,” he added. “We play an important role to offer better solutions to our stores.”
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Christine Hall, Khareem Sudlow
