Chicago disaster recovery firm gets $41 million safety net
The Rolling Meadows-based company just landed $41 million, led by Catalyst Investors.
Fusion was founded in 2006 by David Nolan and with former colleagues Vic Fricas, John Jackson and Bob Sibik, who ran the disaster-recovery business at Rosemont-based technology equipment-leasing giant Comdisco. They've long toiled in the unsexy niche of helping big companies plan and handle disasters, from hurricanes to terrorist attacks. Nolan says Fusion goes a step farther, from helping companies draw up plans to actually managing them. Its software helps digitize and automate those plans, by enabling simple but crucial elements such as updating the people responsible for certain tasks.
Fusion raised $2.3 million from angels in 2014, then another $8.1 million from Level equity at the end of the same year. Since then, the company has grown from 17 employees to 70.
It's doubling both its headquarters space at 3601 Algonquin Road in Rolling Meadows to 11,000 square feet and its downtown office at 2 N. Riverside Plaza to 13,500 square feet.
Article:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...go-firm-fusion
Snapsheet raises another $12 million
Snapsheet, which is in the midst of a major growth spurt, is topping off the tank with another $12 million.
The seven-year-old company makes software that helps insurers automate claims for vehicles damaged in accidents by using the cameras in smartphones. The technology has evolved, allowing the Chicago-based tech firm to land big customers, including USAA and Liberty Mutual, as well as James River, which works with a lot of ride-hailing and delivery companies.
The company has more than doubled its headcount in less than a year to more than 300 people, about half of them in Chicago. Weisberg says the company, which was backed early on by Lightbank and OCA Ventures, has increased revenue at least 100 percent in each of the past four years.
Article:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...ses-12-million
ShipBob gets $17.5 million from Bain, others
ShipBob, a startup that handles the shipping chores for small e-commerce companies, is getting a big boost. The company raised $17.5 million in a deal lead by Bain Capital Ventures, along with previous investor Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners.
Launched in 2014, ShipBob is shipping 200,000 to 300,000 packages a month from warehouses in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. It's opening another in San Francisco and plans to enter several new markets in the coming year.
Article:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...tartup-shipbob