Business execution startup Ally raises fresh funds from Accel, others

Industry:    2019-08-20

Ally, a goal setting and execution management software startup, has raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firms Accel Partners India, with participation from US-based funds Founders Co-op and Vulcan Capital, as well as Lee Fixel, the former private equity chief of Tiger Global Management.

Ally helps businesses such as workplace collaboration firm Slack, telecom operator T-Mobile, and home services startup UrbanClap to accelerate their business performance “through alignment, agility, transparency and focus to match the fast-paced needs of their evolving markets,” it said.

Its product is based on the objectives and key results (OKR) framework, the operating model for running agile businesses popularised by Google and other industry leaders.

The Chennai and Seattle-based startup plans to use the funds to invest in scaling product and engineering, sales, and marketing in both regions.

“At present, the team comprises about 25 people with 60% of them in India. We intend to triple the team size in the next 12 months,” said Vetri Vellore, founder and chief executive officer, Ally, in a phone interview.

It had raised a seed funding round of $3 million in January from Founders Co-op, Vulcan, and Fixel, who invested in his personal capacity.

Fixel, known for his investments in some of India’s largest startups such as Flipkart, announced his departure from Tiger Global in March, after a stint that lasted more than a decade.

The startup claims to be doubling its annual recurring revenue (ARR) every quarter and expects revenue growth in India to accelerate in the coming months.

Although most of Ally’s clients are other technology startups, Vellore said that the principle of OKR is applicable across businesses and industries, indicating a wider use case.

An Accel India partner is expected to join Ally’s board, he said. Ally is among a number of software-as-a-service startups that operate in India, the US and other countries, either from an early stage or expand later, driven by demand from multiple markets for software startups.

Zenoti, which provides software for spas, salons, and other outlets, and Freshworks, which provides SaaS solutions for customer support, sales, and marketing, are some other examples.

Accel is an investor in all three of these firms.

Mint reported in May that Tiger Global, one of India’s most prolific technology investors, has made nearly a dozen investments in business-to-business and SaaS startups this year.

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