SaaS startup Backbone secures $18 million to streamline the complex manufacturing process for consumer goods companies

Backbone, a cloud-based startup and developer of next generation workflow solution that streamlines the complex manufacturing process for consumer goods companies of all sizes, has secured an additional $10 million in investment as part of Series A2 financing to accelerate the growth of the Backbone team and our core product. The round was led by Foundry Group. This funding, combined with the $8 million Backbone raised in August 2018, has Backbone closing their Series A round with a total $18 million in funding over 12 months. To date, Backbone has raised a total of $23 million.

Founded in 2014 by fashion and consumer goods industry veterans Andrew Klein and Matthew Klein, the Boulder, Colorado Backbone is a next generation workflow solution that streamlines the complex manufacturing process for consumer goods companies of all sizes. Its all-in-one product development application increases productivity, reduces error, enhances communication and helps get products to market faster. Modernizing the antiquated product development process means better use of resources, faster lead times, projects being completed on time and within budget –increasing profitability.

During the last quarter of 2018 and first half of 2019, Backbone used a portion of the investment to advance their platform and expand growth into consumer goods industries like fashion, furniture, home and hard goods, textiles, and more. The Boulder-based company now works with more than 150 companies, including world-leading, digitally-native brands like Allbirds, Warby Parker, Outdoor Voices, Uppababy, Serena & Lily, Betabrand and Parachute Home.

Launched in July 2019, Backbone’s new cloud-based platform has proven to be an energizing innovation for industries like fashion and retail, which have been slow to embrace the digital age.

“This is an incredible investment. It will continue to accelerate the growth of the Backbone team and our core product. It will also aid us as we advance in the middle market while garnering more business in the enterprise market,” said Matthew Klein, CEO of Backbone. “It allows us to further enable today’s leading disruptive brands to make products better, faster, and more efficiently. Since the beginning, we’ve never thought of ourselves as being up against our legacy incumbents. Instead, we are competing against a fast-growing direct to consumer economy with a customer demand that is greater than ever.”

Backbone plans to address three key growth initiatives with the additional $10 million in funding received: increasing staffing, providing updated features and functionality to the Backbone platform, and solidifying their market presence. By the end of 2019, the company plans to bring on a Chief Operating Officer and seeks to double their employee count, going from 50 employees to over 100 by Q2 of 2020.

“We’ve seen firsthand the inefficiencies and difficulties direct-to-consumer brands face in getting great products to market,” said Jason Mendelson, founding partner of Foundry Group. “We believe that Backbone, with its modern and seamless platform experience, is the only real solution for brands to work in a fully digital space. We are incredibly excited to partner with them.”