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Rotterdam-based software company Flex-Appeal has secured a new round of funding totalling €800,000. Amongst the new investors is Exact founder Arco van Nieuwland. The new funding means Flex-Appeal has now raised a total of €1.6 million over the past 3 years.
Flex-Appeal is a modern employee app that allows retail, hotel and hospitality companies to reach, train and engage their front-line employees. The Rotterdam-based firm has rapidly amassed an impressive list of customers, including brands such as Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Gamma, Humphrey’s and New York Pizza. Through the use of the app, these companies see significant improvements in the areas of employee turnover, customer satisfaction and productivity. “A lot of companies are still using outdated means of communication, such as newsletters, intranet and simple clipboards; this is part of the reason why we’re making such a massive impact,” says Ruben Wieman, one of Flex-Appeal’s two founders.
A Rotterdam company with ambition
The new round of funding is meant to spur Flex-Appeal’s ambitions for growth. The money will be invested in product development, sales and marketing. The company is actively looking for new talent as it expects to expand its team from 9 to 20 people before the end of 2019. As part of this expansion, Flex-Appeal recently relocated to a brand new office in the Groothandelsgebouw, right in the centre of Rotterdam. “We’re convinced that this city is increasingly becoming a hotspot for talent and innovation”, say Flex-Appeal’s founders.
Experienced entrepreneurs get on board
The new financing round is led by Arco van Nieuwland, co-founder of Exact Software. Van Nieuwland left Exact back in 2008 in order to start his new firm, Yuki. Through CNBB Venture Partners he also invests in software companies with great potential, including Bynder. Next to CNBB, a number of experienced angel investors are also participating in the round. Notable names include Kees de Jong (Blauw Research and nlgroeit), Michiel Mol (Lost Boys) and Marc Schröder (Tango and Route Mobiel).
Innovative app for 2.8 billion employees
Flex-Appeal helps companies to reach their so-called non-desk employees. These are people who don’t work behind a desk in an office, but for example on the shop floor of a supermarket or restaurant. “This market consists of 2.8 billion people worldwide, almost 80% of all employees”, according to Ruben Wieman. “It’s a real challenge for companies to reach this group of employees. Many firms currently use ineffective and outdated means, such as an intranet, e-mail, WhatsApp and paper documents.”
“Flex-Appeal is the modern way to truly connect with front-line employees”, adds his co-founder Guido Schmitz. “We’re offering companies one single app for all their internal communication, onboarding, and e-learning. It is this combination of functionalities in particular that makes the app so loved by employees. As an example: employees from the largest Jumbo-franchiser in the Netherlands, sent each other more than 4.000 public and over 30.000 private messages just in the first month of using the app.”
— Press release
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