Lease accounting startup LeaseQuery has raised a $40 million Series A funding round through Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division. The Atlanta company is pursuing outside capital for the first time after remaining bootstrapped since it was founded in 2011.
CEO George Azih shares that although he remains incredibly proud of how much LeaseQuery has grown on its own, the company decided to pursue funding now to really accelerate forward momentum.
“We are now at a stage where the demand for our software is accelerating and this partnership allows us to reach more people and better serve our customers,” Azih tells Hypepotamus. “The Goldman team has a great track record of investing in high-growth companies, and we look forward to leveraging our partnership to create value on both sides.”
LeaseQuery’s cloud-based platform manages documents, ensures compliance with lease accounting guidelines, and prepares necessary paperwork for leases on clients’ real estate, equipment and other materials. It also keeps accounting teams up-to-date on critical filing dates.
More than 10,000 accountants across public, private, non-profit, and government organizations use the LeaseQuery platform to comply with new lease accounting standards from a variety of accounting boards around the world.
Azih believes that Goldman Sachs made the decision to invest because they recognized LeaseQuery’s innovation and leadership in an industry with tremendous upside. “Recent regulatory changes make the lease accounting market ripe for disruption and investment,” he says. “LeaseQuery is the market and thought leader helping accountants navigate this rapidly-changing landscape.”
“LeaseQuery is a tested, dedicated lease accounting solution built by accountants, and the company’s combination of customer insight, differentiated technology and accelerated growth is unique and exciting,” said John Giannuzzi, Vice President with Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division, in a statement.
Despite LeaseQuery’s big funding news, Azih shares that they remain focused.
“We have been growing at an accelerated rate and this funding will allow us to continue to invest in developing best in class software, services and talent to continue to help accountants solve problems,” he says.
He says the next two years could be fertile ground for LeaseQuery. A recent company survey found that just 5 percent of private companies have completed their lease accounting transition to comply with the new standards, and that non-profits, public companies, and governmental agencies aren’t doing much better.
“We’re confident that we are the best solution on the market and look forward to continuing to prove it,” says Azih.
LeaseQuery is on track for another record year of growth in 2019, after surpassing 700 percent year-over-year revenue growth in 2018 and opening a new office in Birmingham. The Atlanta-based company has nearly doubled its client base over the last year, having grown from 500 companies at the end of 2018 to nearly 1,000 today.
