Sortlist, the platform connecting companies to marketing, communication and digital agencies using artificial intelligence has just completed a €2 million fundraising campaign with Sambrinvest and 3 business angels. These are three successful Belgian entrepreneurs including Mike Vandenhooft (Newpharma) and François Van Uffelen (Babelway).
The Belgium startup has already marked its presence in the French, Belgian, Dutch and Spanish markets, and now aims to become European leader by the end of 2020, with the help of new funding. Further, Sortlist also plans to double its product and IT teams to make innovation a driver of its growth.
“Since the end of 2018, a dedicated team has been developing the Dutch market. It will be Germany’s turn in the first half of 2019, and Italy’s at the end of the year,” says Nicolas Finet, co-founder of Sortlist, in charge of marketing and strategy. “2020 will be the year we enter the British market”.
At the same time, Sortlist’s co-founders intend to take advantage of this fundraising opportunity to strengthen their teams, particularly in product and IT. “The emergence of Sortlist being European leader stands on our capability to innovate and meet the needs of our customers, companies and agencies,” insists Nicolas Finet. Further, it was informed in the company press release that 10 new employees (UX, artificial intelligence, etc.) should join the company soon.
So how does Sortlist work?
Launched in 2014, the startup has developed an online platform that allows companies of all sizes and sectors around the world to easily find the right marketing, communication or digital agency to meet their needs. The platform is a source of agility and productivity for all its customers. In addition, it allows thousands of independent agencies and experts to take part in calls for tenders – particularly those of large groups – from which they were previously often excluded.
The company has already physically established itself in Belgium (HQ), France and Spain. From 26 to 42 employees in 2018, the company has seen more than 11,000 qualified projects proposed on its platform, for a total budget of 162 million euros.
Designed natively as a global platform, Sortlist is already accessible worldwide and available in 5 languages.
Thibaut Vanderhofstadt, co-founder and CEO of Sortlist, said:
This fundraising will enable us to boost our development in Europe and establish ourselves as the undisputed leader in our market. The investors we have chosen to support us all have an entrepreneurial background that will prove invaluable in meeting the many challenges ahead.
Olivier Mertens, Investment Manager at Sambrinvest, said:
Investing in Sortlist is a great opportunity for a fund like ours. The company has experienced intense and uninterrupted growth since its launch, is in balance and, above all, is built on a model that can be industrialised and replicated throughout the world.
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