If everyone on a team shares the same goal, it is logical to assume that executing and achieving this goal is simple, but we all know that isn’t true and that’s exactly what Hive solves. The productivity platform, founded in 2015, powers every aspect of work and helps fast pace companies stay on track. Hive focuses on increasing efficiency and speed of completion for a range of operations from big projects to small tasks like emails and meetings. Major companies like Google, Uber, and Starbucks use Hive because of its flexibility, which allows users to integrate with 1k+ tools and many add-on features.
By 2021 the project management space is estimated to grow around $49.6B, and AlleyWatch chatted with CEO and Cofounder John Furneaux to learn more about how Hive is poised to be a leading company in this space. The last time we spoke with Furneaux was in 2017, and in two years, Hive has increased revenue 32x, secured client accounts of 10,000 person teams, and has now raised over $16M across three rounds.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised $10.6M in a Series A round, bringing total funding to $16.7M. Comcast Ventures led the round with participation from existing seed investors Tribeca Venture Partners, Vocap Investment Partners, and Rembrandt Venture Partners.
Tell us about the product or service that Hive offers.
Hive is a powerful project and process management platform that powers the fast pace at companies like Google, Uber, Starbucks and WeWork.
What inspired you to start Hive?
Achieving your own goals is tough. That problem becomes a thousand times harder when you try to achieve things with a team. I learned this first-hand commuting between San Francisco and DC trying to help USAID (America’s foreign aid organization) deliver programs created in DC and executed in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. It was shocking to realize how hard it was for well-meaning humans to accomplish their mission together, especially for such important initiatives. Hive burst out of me as a desire to help teams achieve their shared goals, no matter where they are or what they might be working on.
How is Hive different?
Most tools in our space focus primarily on project management. At Hive, we are on a mission to help teams move faster in every aspect of work – from project planning, to email management, to more efficient meetings. We want our users to open up Hive in the morning and be able to complete every part of their workday in our platform.
What market does Hive target and how big is it?
Hive targets the enterprise collaboration tool market. In 2016 it was estimated to be a $26.6B market and is projected to grow to $49.6B by 2021.
What’s your business model?
The base price for Hive is $12 per user, per month to access the core product. Additional add-ons including custom analytics, enhanced security, external users, proofing and approvals, and resource management are available at an additional cost.
How has the business changed since we last spoke in 2017?
We’ve grown drastically in the past two years. Our revenue is now 32x what it was when we last spoke! We’ve brought tens of thousands of new companies to Hive. Last time we spoke, we were prepping for our first 1,000 seat deal. Now companies all over the world are using Hive to power thousands of employees across various teams and offices.
What was the funding process like?
We were lucky to have had a wonderful year, and that is of course appealing to the investment community. We were able to choose a partner that could best support us in this critical phase of hyper-growth.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Project management can seem to be a crowded space with several great tools entering the market in recent years. Investors can be wary of a space with too many players, so it was crucial for us to highlight Hive’s unique features and how we had already successfully penetrated the market.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our rapid revenue growth coupled with negative churn. The first customer to sign up to Hive still uses us. We know we have the best tool on the market, and when people try Hive, they stay and expand across their organization.
Our rapid revenue growth coupled with negative churn. The first customer to sign up to Hive still uses us. We know we have the best tool on the market, and when people try Hive, they stay and expand across their organization.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
Last time it was to win our first 1,000 person team. We exceeded that with several 10,000 person teams. This time it is to win our first 100,000 person team.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Hang in there. Startups never die, they simply give up. You’re either winning or dead, so while you’re alive, you’re winning.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We have barely begun to scratch the surface of what collaboration tools can do. Up next, we’ll be enhancing our analytics offering and adding additional automation capabilities to enhance our project management, chat, email, and notes features.
Where is your favorite bar in the city for an after-work drink?
The House off Union Square is a solid choice!
