Dublin business &Open has grown to 90 people and plans new office in New York.
Dublin business &Open has grown to 90 people and plans new office in New York.
Irish-headquartered gifting platform &Open has raised $26m in Series A funding in a round led by Molten Ventures, including participation from First Round Capital, LocalGlobe, Tribal VC, as well as new investor Middlegame Ventures.
The Series A brings &Open’s total capital raised to $33.2m.
“All companies gift— be it their employees, customers, prospects, or partners. Companies gift because people power businesses and those relationships need to be nurtured. Today, more than ever, loyalty matters”
&Open has already grown its team to more than 90 people with employees across Ireland, the UK, and the US, and plans to open an office in New York City in the next year.
This new capital will help &Open expand its reach as a scalable consumer-grade enterprise platform, serving leading brands such as Airbnb, Peloton, Spotify, Hopin, Intercom, Wayflyer, and Better-Up.
Building on the success of its core business, the funding will also enable &Open to expand to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its latest offering, &Open On-Demand, a platform designed to make better gifting more accessible.
&Open: The gift that keeps giving
&Open leadership team
Ciara Flood, Jonathan Legge and Mark Legge founded &Open in 2017 to fix corporate gifting by delivering better gifts at scale. Active in 120+ countries, &Open helps brands curate high-quality, design-led, and responsibly-sourced gifts for customers around the world.
The launch of On-Demand not only enables &Open to extend its offering to more companies around the world, but also provides a platform for emerging brands, local vendors, causes, and subscription services to reach new audiences.
“All companies gift— be it their employees, customers, prospects, or partners. Companies gift because people power businesses and those relationships need to be nurtured. Today, more than ever, loyalty matters,” said Jonathan Legge, co-founder and CEO of &Open. “&Open is where some of the world’s best brands come to build loyalty. With the support of our investors, we are excited to launch On-Demand to expand our reach and accelerate our growth as we fix corporate gifting and craft an operation that is rapidly becoming part of the solution.”
As companies strive to keep employees, customers, and partners engaged amidst competing priorities, a global pandemic, the Great Resignation, and the proliferation of hybrid and remote work, &Open has experienced a period of exponential growth, increasing Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by over 376% and growing new clients by 270% in the last year alone. With economic uncertainty on the horizon, attracting and retaining customers and clients, and building true loyalty, has never been more consequential.
“Now, more than ever, companies are looking for ways to retain employees and foster real connections with customers and partners,” said Nicola McClafferty, partner at Molten Ventures. “Working with some of the largest global businesses and brands, &Open has proven that gifting, when done right, is an incredibly powerful tool to increase brand loyalty and build advocacy.
“We’ve been highly impressed with how the team have built out a global platform that makes carefully crafted, sustainably-sourced and beautiful gifts more accessible to people and companies across the globe. Jonathan, Ciara, Mark, and the team approach the business in the same way they do gifting — with immense thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and a focus on how to make a difference. We are excited to be supporting &Open as it launches On-Demand and continues to build on its existing success.”
Main image at top: Mark Legge, co-founder and Logistics director, Ciara Flood, co-founder and Buying director, and Jonathan Legge, co-founder and CEO
