Zurich-based startup rready, the provider of a corporate innovation platform to foster and de-risk innovation, has raised $4 million in its Series A round led by FYRFLY Venture Partners. Along with the investment, the startup signed new contracts with global corporations Holcim, Mediclinic, and Tetra Pak, joining existing customers who used the platform to create new customer experiences, products, patents, and spinoffs.
Innovation remains an ongoing challenge for mature organisations. Hierarchy, gut feeling, and fear of failure often stifle innovation or misdirect it. Still, the threat of disruption and the “war for talent” has motivated enterprises to find a solution to those barriers. With its flagship product, rready combines a SaaS platform for visibility, innovation accounting, and project execution with a physical KICKBOX (literally, a box) that guides employees through formulating, vetting, and launching innovations. KICKBOX is an open-source innovation methodology invented by serial entrepreneur Mark Randall. Different from a mere project management platform, rready provides a network of service providers and coaches who can be hired on demand to fill gaps and keep a project moving.
More than 40 global companies, including 3M, Cisco, Caterpillar, MasterCard, P&G, and Swisscom have used the platform to validate thousands of employees’ ideas and implement hundreds of projects. Most recently, Siemens Energy secured 12 new patents in 18 months; Implenia’s patented, eco-friendly tunnel construction method while Swisscom’s automated video streaming product for sports resulted in the creation of the spinoff company Asport. The newly added customers Holcim, Mediclinic, and Tetra Pak, aspire to achieve new innovations with rready.
Series A round of $4 million
The proceeds from its $4 million Series A round will be used to grow its customer base, expand its product portfolio and commercialise the newly built AI-powered platform. The API-first software supports different use cases such as open innovation, hackathons, accelerators, or continuous improvement ideas. The latest solution has already delivered $8 million in cost savings and revenue during a yearlong pilot at a company with a $30B+ market cap. With that, rready has become the leading provider of an innovation operating system for corporates looking for a scalable solution leading to measurable results.
Alongside lead investor FYRFLY Venture Partners, EquityPitcher, Verve, Swisscom Ventures, and angel investors also participated. The round also includes non-dilutive debt capital from UBS.
As part of the Series A round, Mark Randall has officially joined rready’s board of directors along with Roger Wüthrich, former Chief Digital Officer at Swisscom. Commenting on the methodology he said, “While creativity is innately human, KICKBOX showed the world how to channel employee creativity into tangible innovation in an enterprise context. rready’s breakthrough was to adapt KICKBOX innovation into a repeatable, scalable process that companies can deploy in the most impactful, measurable way. The result is a platform organisations worldwide are using to drive a predictable funnel of innovations.”
(Press release/RAN)
Photo: rready's founding team
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