Australian startup Tracksuit, which measures the value of brand, just raised $6.8 million in a seed round led by venture capitalists Blackbird, Icehouse Ventures, Ascential, Shasta Ventures and marketer Mark Ritson.
Tracksuit was founded in 2021 by Matt Herbert and Connor Archbold in partnership with TRA Labs, the venture studio arm of insights agency TRA, and innovation and venture studio Previously Unavailable.
The capital raised, which will be used to expand into new markets across Auckland, Sydney, New York and London, marks Tracksuit's first external investment since launching in early 2021.
The startup has grown to 20 full-time employees and the business is now tracking more than 1,300 brands across Australia, the US, the UK and New Zealand.
“When we started Tracksuit 20 months ago, we built a cash-flow positive, bootstrapped business. When the demand for our product skyrocketed, we went into investor conversations with confidence knowing we had the backing of an incredible team and strong metrics,” says co-founder Matt Herbert.
“The level of immediate demand for Tracksuit is indicative of the shift in consumer businesses, who are focusing less on immediate conversion and more on building long-term growth through highly effective, creative marketing.”
Herbert and co-founder Connor Archbold previously worked together at New Zealand software company Mish Guru, where Herbert was head of business development and Archbold was chief operating officer.
Archbold: “Our vision is for Tracksuit to be used in every strategic growth conversation for the best consumer brands of today and tomorrow.
“We exist to be the common language to measure, understand and communicate the value of brand building.”
Tracksuit’s always-on brand tracking takes the market research model and makes it e asier to understand and more affordable.
Lead investor Blackbird, which has funded companies such as Canva since 2012, is backing Tracksuit with a $3.6 million investment.
Phoebe Harrop, Principal at Blackbird: “Strong brands are the difference between good companies and great companies – whether they're selling physical products or software.
"The magic of Tracksuit is giving companies across every industry a common language for measuring, talking about and investing in brand health."
Rob Lockyear at Tracksuit user Allpress Global Brand: "Allpress has always been a brand led coffee company. Until using Tracksuit we had no idea what impact our brand spend was having on awareness, consideration and preference in NZ, AU and the UK against our key competitors."
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.