Momentum Raises $5M Seed to Automate Sales in Slack

Streamlining Sales Collaboration with Automation

The typical sales process often involves complexity, with information originating from numerous sources and requiring input from various team members. Salesforce’s acquisition of Slack for over $27 billion last year underscored the need for a unifying platform to manage this interconnectedness.

Momentum's Seed Funding

Momentum, a nascent startup, aims to enhance this synergy by establishing an automated collaboration layer connecting sales teams with the broader organization. The company recently secured $5 million in seed funding, spearheaded by Basis Set Ventures, with additional participation from Inovia Capital, Leadout Capital, South Park Commons, and a consortium of industry-focused investors.

From Deal Rooms to Comprehensive Automation

Initially, Momentum envisioned developing a deal room integrated within Slack. However, following Salesforce’s introduction of similar functionality in its initial Slack integrations in August, the company pivoted to address a different challenge.

According to Santiago Suarez Ordoñez, Momentum’s CEO and co-founder, their research revealed that collaboration within sales extends far beyond simple deal rooms. He stated that the potential for collaboration in sales is significantly broader than initially conceived.

Connecting Sales to Essential Tools

The founders determined that salespeople require seamless connectivity not only to platforms like Slack and Salesforce, but also to critical tools such as Google Calendar, Asana, and Jira. Automated follow-up actions, all managed from a centralized location, became a key focus.

“Momentum evolved into a platform designed to simplify this workflow,” Suarez Ordoñez explained. “Rather than navigating to Jira to create a security ticket, users can simply initiate a request within Momentum, triggering an automated process that generates the ticket, shares relevant deal context, and requires minimal effort from the sales representative.”

Expanding Automated Workflows

While maintaining deal-room capabilities, Momentum intends to expand its functionality to encompass a complete suite of automated workflows within Slack. These include processes for obtaining discount approvals and requesting engineering support for sales opportunities.

Team Growth and Diversity Commitment

Since closing the seed round in August, the company has added its 14th employee. Momentum boasts a diverse founding team, including Suarez Ordoñez’s wife, Ashley Wilson, who serves as COO, and CTO Moiz Virani. The company emphasizes the importance of building a diverse and inclusive team.

Suarez Ordoñez highlighted a commitment to diversity, noting that one investor specifically included a diversity mandate as a condition of their investment. He added that women comprise half of the company’s board and two of the three investor partners in this funding round are female.

Remote Beginnings and the Value of In-Person Collaboration

The company was launched last year during the peak of the pandemic. Remarkably, Momentum secured funding and onboarded initial customers while operating primarily from Suarez Ordoñez’s home.

Although currently utilizing shared workspaces, the team recognizes the benefits of in-person interaction. Suarez Ordoñez expressed that physical proximity enhances the sense of reality and cohesion within the team.

He acknowledged that while the company was fully functional remotely, the ability to collaborate in person represents a positive shift in their operational dynamic.