Explo, a company that participated in the Y Combinator Winter 2020 program, has announced a $2.3 million seed funding round to support its work in helping businesses create customer-facing business intelligence dashboards. The investment round included contributions from Amplo VC, Soma Capital, Y Combinator, and a number of individual investors.

Initially, the company focused on streamlining the process of preparing data for modeling and other applications. However, after engaging with potential customers, the founders identified a significant demand for a straightforward method of constructing dashboards utilizing this data, leading them to adjust their business direction.

Gary Lin, Explo’s CEO and co-founder, explained that the company was able to utilize the foundational infrastructure, data engineering capabilities, and production systems developed during their time with Y Combinator. However, the resulting service differs considerably from their original concept.

“We had to develop the functionality for our users to design dashboards, integrate those dashboards into their existing systems, and personalize the visual appearance to align with their brand identity, ensuring a seamless user experience,” Lin stated.

Although the founders began working on the initial concept last year, the strategic shift didn’t occur until September. This change was prompted by consistent feedback from customers indicating a greater need for the dashboard solution than the tool they had been developing within the Y Combinator program. Chen noted that their YC mentors and investors strongly encouraged this transition.

The company is currently operating with its four original co-founders – Lin, Andrew Chen (COO), Rohan Varma (CTO), and Carly Stanisic (product designer) – and intends to use the new funding to expand its engineering team by adding three to five personnel.

With a founding team representing diverse backgrounds, the company is committed to maintaining a focus on diversity as it grows. “We believe that diversity is crucial because it fosters a broader and more comprehensive perspective. In my experience, the most innovative ideas emerge from environments with a wide range of viewpoints. Therefore, we are dedicated to inclusivity throughout our hiring process,” Lin explained.

Having developed during the pandemic, the core founding team is accustomed to remote work and plans to continue operating as a distributed organization. “We are building a remote-first company, allowing us to recruit talent from anywhere, which significantly expands our applicant pool and promotes diversity,” Lin said.

The company is currently exploring strategies to cultivate a strong company culture within a distributed workforce. “We view remote work not as a diminished experience, but as a different one. We are considering new approaches to onboarding, and potentially organizing team retreats when travel conditions permit, to foster collaboration and connection,” he said.

For the time being, Explo will maintain its remote structure as it serves its initial customers and builds its business with the support of the recent investment.