Smartsuite Raises $38M to Revolutionize Enterprise Collaboration

A New Venture from Risk Management Pioneers

The founders behind a successful risk management startup are now addressing a different challenge within the professional landscape, launching a new company focused on streamlining workflows.

Introducing SmartSuite: A Collaborative Work Platform

SmartSuite provides a platform designed to facilitate team collaboration on projects. It enables the creation of automated workflows and offers centralized access to information across a variety of applications and data repositories.

Rapid Growth and User Adoption

The company reports a substantial 300% growth rate over the past year. It has quietly amassed a user base of 50,000 individuals from 5,000 businesses.

Notable clients include Apple Bank, Credit One Bank, UCLA, Georgetown University, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Sunday Riley, Lyneer Staffing Solutions, Datawatch, and UC Berkeley.

Securing $38 Million in Funding

SmartSuite is announcing $38 million in funding to fuel its expansion plans. This capital was invested in several stages.

Funding Breakdown and Key Investors

A recent $13 million Series A round was led by Canapi Ventures, with participation from Sorenson Capital and High Alpha. Prior to this, the founders – Jon and Tara Darbyshire, alongside Peter Novosel – initially self-funded the company, investing $11 million before launch in 2022 and an additional $14 million afterward.

Experienced Founders with a Proven Track Record

The Darbyshires previously founded Archer Technologies, a risk management platform acquired by EMC (now Dell) in 2010 for $200 million. Archer was later part of RSA and ultimately acquired by Cinven in 2023 for a reported value exceeding $2 billion.

Novosel, the CTO and co-founder of SmartSuite, joined Archer during its early stages and continued with EMC/Dell following the acquisition.

From Retirement to Re-Innovation

After selling Archer, the Darbyshires initially retired to Newport Beach, California, relocating from Overland Park, Kansas. However, their entrepreneurial drive led them to reunite with Novosel and establish SmartSuite.

Leveraging Past Successes

Their experience with Archer provided the founders with a valuable network of enterprise contacts and, crucially, identified a clear need for a more integrated work management solution.

Identifying the Pain Point: Fragmented Software Ecosystems

Jon Darbyshire, CEO of SmartSuite, explains that their experience building Archer revealed the challenges of integrating disparate software and cloud services.

He observed that users often relied on a patchwork of tools, frequently using integrations like Zapier to connect them, leading to data silos and operational headaches.

SmartSuite’s Three-Pronged Approach

SmartSuite aims to consolidate three key software categories: project management, process management, and document management.

“Think of traditional project management tools like Monday or Asana. These excel at tasks, but not all business activities are task-based,” Darbyshire noted, referencing CRM systems as an example.

Addressing the Limitations of Existing Tools

While tools like Slack facilitate communication around work, they can be overwhelming and hinder focused discussion. Similarly, process management tools like ServiceNow and document management platforms like Notion, Google Docs, and Microsoft Loop each address specific needs but lack comprehensive integration.

SmartSuite seeks to unify these capabilities into a single, cohesive platform.

A Platform for Managing Any Process

The ultimate goal of SmartSuite is to provide a platform capable of managing any business process.

Simplifying Onboarding with Templates and Integrations

To accelerate adoption, SmartSuite offers over 200 pre-built templates for common workflows. The platform integrates with approximately 5,000 applications, including Slack, Microsoft, Google, HubSpot, Salesforce, Jira, Make, and Zapier, providing broad compatibility with existing tools.

The Trade-off: Adding Another Tool to the Stack

A potential concern is whether adding another software solution is justified. However, the decision may hinge on which operational challenges an organization prioritizes.

Focus on Governance, Risk, and Compliance

Walker Forehand, president and general partner of Canapi Ventures, emphasized SmartSuite’s ability to simplify complex processes, particularly in areas like Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), for enterprises and financial institutions.

Canapi’s strong ties to the financial services industry, with support from over 70 banks, suggest a significant demand for solutions that enhance software observability.

Flexible Deployment Options

Customers are utilizing SmartSuite in various ways, from managing all their software and work through the platform to focusing on specific workloads like cybersecurity, risk management, or recruitment.

SmartSuite leverages AWS as its cloud provider, ensuring a secure and reliable “closed-loop system” for all data and work conducted on the platform.

Organic Growth and Future Marketing Efforts

Remarkably, SmartSuite achieved its initial traction without a dedicated marketing team. Growth was primarily driven by viral adoption through YouTube video content created by partners, with over 600 videos showcasing integrations and use cases.

The company is now investing in building a formal marketing team to further accelerate its growth.