Connect the Dots Raises $15M Series A for Connection Mapping

The Power of Connections in Sales and a New Startup Aiming to Leverage Them

Sales professionals consistently seek methods to enhance their outreach to prospective clients. Receiving an introduction from a mutual connection at a target company significantly increases the likelihood of engagement.

Introducing Connect the Dots: A Professional Relationship Graph

A former executive from Salesforce is developing Connect the Dots, a startup designed to simplify the process of identifying these valuable connections and building a personalized professional relationship graph.

The platform functions by analyzing users' email accounts upon signup, identifying existing connections within various organizations. This data is then compiled and correlated.

How Connect the Dots Works

When examining a specific company, users can visualize their network, revealing who they know who knows someone within that organization. The strength of each connection is indicated by a three-dot system, with all green dots signifying a strong relationship suitable for requesting an email introduction.

Inspired by Salesforce's Early Success

Drew Sechrist, an early Salesforce employee (employee number 36 in 1999), served on Marc Benioff’s initial sales team. He witnessed firsthand the impact of connections on driving sales during the company’s formative years.

Sechrist described Benioff as a “number one alpha networker,” someone who consistently provided introductions that facilitated sales pitches and improved the chances of securing deals.

The Role of Email in Building Relationships

Sechrist believes that email represents a crucial element in fostering professional relationships. “We’ve accumulated a vast archive of emails representing connections, but lacked the means to consolidate and extract value from this data,” he explained.

He added that advancements in machine learning and other technologies now enable the extraction of valuable insights from email data, allowing for the construction of a relationship graph that reveals who truly knows whom.

Differentiating from LinkedIn

While acknowledging LinkedIn’s similar intent, Sechrist argues that the platform is often too cluttered and unreliable for effective introductions.

“Salespeople and recruiters often experience fatigue when requesting introductions on LinkedIn from individuals who lack a genuine connection to the person they are trying to reach,” he stated.

A Better Approach to Introductions

Sechrist aimed to create a more refined system. Currently, Connect the Dots offers a beta version of its social graph, accessible by request or through referrals from existing users, mirroring the Clubhouse model for user acquisition.

Funding and Growth

The company secured $5 million in seed funding to develop the product and recently completed a $15 million round led by Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from Cloud Apps Capital Partners and Velvet Sea Ventures, bringing the total funding to $20 million.

Team and Location

Connect the Dots currently employs 55 individuals, primarily based in San Francisco, with a significant engineering team located in Serbia. Sechrist is presently based in Miami.

The new capital will be used to double the team size within the next year.

Company Culture and Values

Drawing from his experience at Salesforce, Sechrist implemented the V2MOM framework – a management process encompassing vision, values, methods, obstacles, and measures – to guide the company’s direction.

“We recently completed our V2MOM, bringing together team members from Europe and the U.S. in Mexico to define our core values, with inclusivity being a central tenet,” he said.

Commitment to Diversity

Sechrist recognizes the challenges of achieving racial diversity, particularly with a substantial portion of the workforce in Serbia, but remains committed to improving representation as the company expands.

He intends to maintain a largely remote work environment, enabling recruitment from a wider geographic pool.

The Network Effect and Future Plans

Inspired by companies like Crossbeam, Sechrist envisions a flywheel effect as the network grows, increasing the product’s value with each new user. He anticipates a general product release sometime in the first half of the coming year.