Finanzierungsrunde: rready
rready has raised a $4 million Series A round led by FYRFLY Venture Partners. EquityPitcher Ventures, Verve Ventures, Swisscom Ventures and angel investors are participating in the round. The round also includes a non-dilutive growth loan from UBS, Switzerland's leading bank. rready will use the funds to commercialise its newly developed AI-powered platform. The API-based software can be used to support various use cases such as open innovation, hackathons, accelerators or continuous improvement ideas. The latest solution has already delivered cost savings and $8 million in revenue during a one-year pilot at a company with a market capitalisation of over $30 billion. rready is becoming the leading provider of an innovation operating system for companies looking for a scalable solution that leads to measurable results.
Innovation remains a constant challenge for mature companies. Hierarchy, gut instinct and fear of failure often nip innovation in the bud or steer it in the wrong direction. Yet the threat of disruption and the "war for talent" have motivated companies to find a solution to these obstacles. rready is that solution for over 40 global companies that have used it to validate the ideas of thousands of employees and implement hundreds of projects, including new customer experiences, products, patents and spinoffs.
What makes rready so special?
rready is an innovation-as-a-service provider that enables companies to implement and scale intrapreneurship and innovation. The solutions were developed at Swisscom under the GETKICKBOX brand and now the GETKICKBOX team is founding its own startup, rready AG. The first product "Kickbox" offers an online SaaS platform, a physical toolbox and an innovation ecosystem. With these elements, they support employees in developing innovations in their company through new products or services, thereby promoting a culture of innovation. The rready platform already complements this solution with other complementary programmes on the topics of continuous improvement and feedback in order to offer a wide range of services. Their common goal is to use software products to promote the innovative strength of employees, structure innovation processes and thus tap into a company's greatest capital.
rready's flagship product combines a SaaS platform for transparency, innovation accounting and project implementation with a physical KICKBOX (literally: a box) that supports employees in the formulation, testing and introduction of innovations. In contrast to a pure project management platform, rready offers a network of service providers and coaches who can be hired as required to close gaps and drive a project forward.
KICKBOX is an open source innovation methodology invented by Mark Randall, a serial entrepreneur who sold a company to Adobe and stayed on to share his innovation techniques.
"While creativity is inherently human, KICKBOX has shown the world how to turn employee creativity into tangible innovation in a corporate context. rready has made the breakthrough by turning KICKBOX innovation into a repeatable, scalable process that organisations can deploy in the most impactful and measurable way. The result is a platform that organisations around the world are using to create a predictable innovation funnel."