US VC leads $15m round for Australia's Flare
US-based VC Point72 Ventures has led a A$21 million ($15.4 million) round for Australian staff management technology provider Flare.
Founded in 2015, Flare offers small business owners a cloud-based human resources and employee benefits platform that helps inform staff about financial services and streamline a number of processes around payroll management and onboarding new talent. The software is planned to be expanded to include advisory services in superannuation and insurance.
The platform is said to be in use by more than 20,000 employees, with major customers including real estate agency Knight Frank, cosmetics company Sephora, and fashion retailer General Pants. The company received a A$7 million round last year led by Reinventure, the VC arm of Westpac Bank. Local VC Bridgelane also participated.
"What we firmly believe is there has been a significant shift in the dynamic between employees and employers in Australia in the last five to 10 years," James Windon, co-founder of Flare, said, according to The Australian Financial Review. "There are changing expectations from employees about what an employer delivers to them and it's more than just a pay check.”
Recent investment in Australia’s staff management software space includes a $40 million Series D round for Culture Amp led by Blackbird Ventures with participation from a number of VCs and technology companies as well as superannuation fund Hostplus. Culture Amp focuses on analytics tools that help companies improve staff morale and performance.
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