The numbers speak for themselves – B2B SaaS startups across the Southeast region were certainly busy this year scaling and helping enterprise clients navigate uncertain economic conditions.
Which startups made the biggest splash? These were the VC funding rounds that caught our attention this year:
Raises & Exits To Note:
- Stord: The supply chain and logistics SaaS startup raised a $120 million Series D extension round this spring
- Oyster: The Charlotte-based HR platform raised a $150 million Series C in April…further signs that that HRTech side of SaaS is hot and getting hotter
- SingleOps: The Atlanta-based business platform CRM raised a $74 million Series C from FTV Capital out in California
- OneRail: Orlando’s OneRail, a SaaS platform for enterprise shippers, closed a $33 million round at the end of November
- Resilia: Over in New Orleans, Resilia’s founder Sevetri Wilson made history by raising a $35 million Series B, the largest round closed by a solo Black female-founded tech company. Resilia’s SaaS platform is designed specifically to help non-profits scale
- SaaS Alerts: The Wilmington, North Carolina startup landed a $22 million investment to help MSPs protect their SaaS business applications.
- Huntress acquired e-learning SaaS startup in Atlanta Curricula for $22 million
- Atlanta-based SaaSOptics merged Texas-based Chargify to rebrand as a new company, Maxio
- TravelNet Solutions Acquired Revenue Management Firm Rented
So, what’s next?
We asked investors and community leaders from across the Southeast for their list of startups to watch as we head into 2023. Here’s who they say have high potential for growth as we head into the new year:
- GreenPlaces: Raleigh, North Carolina
GreenPlaces is an all-in-one platform that takes the complexity out of becoming a sustainable business. Over the summer it raised a $4 million seed round
- Mudstack: Roswell, Georgia
Mudstack is a digital asset management startup for the media space. What makes it so primed for growth? It is helping artists get ready for the metaverse
- Condoit: Birmingham, Alabama
Conduit is a modern platform for electrical design, analysis, and collaboration. The pre-seed startup’s customers include EV charging installers, facilities, and EV charging manufacturers ready for the electrification of the US.
- Cloverly: Atlanta, Georgia
Cloverly is a clean-tech startup creating a sustainability-as-a-service platform. Why is it a big deal? The platform is helping mobilize climate action.
- Wrangle: Raleigh, North Carolina
Wrangle is an automation platform for busy teams improving efficiency for onboarding, sales quote approval, and contract management. Automating work tickets? Sounds like music to the ears of software teams everywhere.
- Case Status: Charleston, South Carolina
Case Status operates as a cloud-based, client engagement tool for the legal services industry. The startup raised its Series A early in 2022.
- Onwards HR: Atlanta, Georgia
Onwards HR is a data-driven risk mitigation platform that simplifies separations in compliance with corporate policy and employment laws.
- Carpool Logistics: Atlanta, Georgia
Carpool Logistics is an automotive shipping and logistics platform backed by Atlanta Ventures
- Zinnia: Atlanta, Georgia & Charlotte, North Carolina
Zinnia’s mission is to enable teams to perform better, connect deeper, and show up authentically through effortless and impactful offsites.
- Vantaca: Wilmington, North Carolina
Vantaca’s software and services deliver real ROI for association management companies while engaging and empowering the communities.
* Checkhub: Raleigh, North Carolina
Checkhub is operations management software platform in the facility and asset management space
- BEAM Dynamics: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
BEAM Dynamics is a SaaS company offering a unique asset software for the broadcast & film sector
- Kobiton: Atlanta, Georgia
Kobiton is a mobile testing platform that accelerates the delivery and testing of mobile apps.
- SoundStripe: Nashville, Tennessee
Soundstripe offers unlimited, royalty-free music, stock video, and sound effects for use in videos, podcasts, and other media projects.
- Grayscale: Atlanta, Georgia
Grayscale is an engagement tool for recruiting and hiring teams. There is no doubt that HRTech was a huge topic in 2022…we expect the “future of work” conversation to keep that space hot into 2023.
How are people feeling out there?
No one has a crystal ball when it comes to startups. But it’s that unpredictability that keeps it interesting, right?
While we don’t know how the general economic climate will impact the startup world as a whole, we asked the startup community to tell us where the B2B SaaS ecosystem specifically is heading next. Here are some insights that stood out to us:
Tim McLoughlin – CED Executive Committee Member & Managing Partner at Cofounders Capital
As an early stage B2B investor, we think there are a lot of opportunities heading into 2023. First, there have been a lot of VC firms that have raised fresh funds and eventually will need to deploy capital in order to catch up on deals to build a sufficient portfolio within their stated investment period. That capital won’t sit on the sidelines forever.
Also, most of our investments are around workflow efficiency and helping companies do more with less. With recent layoffs reported, companies are going to have to invest in operational efficiency to keep growing and operate at healthy margins.
Finally, there are some companies with really good “bones” to them, that either miss timed the market, their valuation expectations, and/or their hiring plans that will need a bit of a reset. While it can be hard for investors to identify which deals are an opportunity versus the ones they should be running from, there will be some very attractive investments out in the market.
Kathryn O’Day – Partner at Atlanta Ventures
B2B is and will continue to be a fantastic area to build a great company. Businesses have substantial budgets and will continue to grow and spend even in changing economic conditions.
Solutions that help companies save money or grow sales are always compelling!
Economic contractions are hard but also provide new opportunities for creativity, entrepreneurship, and stress testing of ideas. Companies that grow, even modestly, during a downturn will turn into rocketships as the economy improves.
Investors are still looking for great companies and will continue to deploy capital in 2023!
Anya Skomorokhova, co-founder and chief commercial officer at PorterLogic
A tightening of spending in B2B will force greater scrutiny of software purchases, prompting the need to build stronger business cases for any new expenditures. SaaS providers will spend more effort searching for budgets and justifying the ROI of their solutions. It’ll become ever more critical to pinpoint pains and conclusively demonstrate why the investment is worthwhile.
Keeping in line with a shift to thriftier times, B2B SaaS will look more carefully at their own marketing and re-balance in favor of channels that present stronger outcomes and/or are more flexible to vary spending.
