OKR, developed by Andy Grove at Intel in the 1970s, is now one of the most popular management methodologies. OKR, which stands for “objectives and key results”, helps companies achieve goals, including financial and operational goals. However, in places with many employees, it can be difficult to make sure everyone is on the same wavelength. Profit.co wants to keep teams connected with a platform that helps companies visualize OKR planning, review and execution.
Headquartered in Fremont, California, with offices in Singapore, India and Japan. Profit.co announced today that it has raised $11 million led by Elevation Capital. The company says it has grown nine-fold in annual recurring revenue over the past two years. Profit.co’s SaaS platform is used by more than 1,100 customers in 25 countries, including Deckers Brand, Sandvik, Deriv, Singapore’s Open Government and Phoenix Rescue Mission.
Prior to founding Profit.co in 2018, CEO Bastin Gerald worked at companies ranging from startups like Cashedge and Apptivo to large corporations like Oracle. During his career, Gerald encountered different ways of managing and implementing strategies for companies and clients. He told australiabusinessblog.com that companies of all sizes were eager to use methods and products to keep track of their priorities, but struggled to implement them. While working at Apptivo, Gerald created a deployment model that he realized had the potential to reach a wider audience. This grew into Profit.co.
Companies often use spreadsheets, presentation slides, and non-OKR-focused project management software to run their OKRs, but that makes it harder for companies to keep up with their plans as they grow and add employees. It also means that team members and leaders struggle to see exactly how much work other teams are putting into projects.
Other OKR platforms include Microsoft’s Ally.io, Workboard and Gtmhub, but Gerald said Profit.co sets itself apart by using the PEEL method (plan, execute, engage and learn) for its five main modules.
The first is the strategy module, which helps companies create a high-level plan for one to five years. Then the tasks module allows them to manage daily tasks, while the OKR module, which supports meetings, bridges the gap between long-term strategies and daily tasks. The last two modules focus on individual performance: the employee development module covers the assessment and improvement of employees’ performance, while the employee engagement module enables them to report and receive recognition for their performance (it is added a donation platform next month).
Profit.co integrates with Slack, Jira, Salesforce, Hubspot, and Oracle, and while OKR is the default method, it can also be used with other methods, including SMT. Most of its clients have at least 100 employees and come from a wide range of industries, including financial services, telecoms, manufacturing, retail, technology and government organizations.
Examples of how companies have used the platform include REHAU, a polymer company with more than 20,000 employees that started Profit.co when it started using OKRs. Profit.co helped it increase transparency between employees in different departments. Another is the online trading platform Deriv, which used Profit.co to keep teams updated on each other’s goals and progress as it scaled to 1,000 employees in 50 countries.
Profit.co generates revenue by charging per user and also provides coaching and consulting services for companies working on large-scale transformation projects. Part of the funding will be used for product development, including adding 30 new product categories.
In a statement on the funding, Akarsh Shrivastava, director of Elevation Capital, said: “As teams within organizations become more niche over time, it becomes imperative for business leaders to have a reliable and comprehensive view of whether goals are being met. achieved. Profit.co fills this gap excellently through a combination of deep technical knowledge and a keen understanding of the needs of the organization.”
