Planday closes $14 million investment

The Danish startup Planday has closed a $14 million (DKK 93 million) investment lead by the  Indinvest and Sweden’s Creandum. The investment will be used to strengthen Planday’s growth in the US and UK – and build more presence in the European market.

Planday has developed an online roster planning system for all types of businesses who use a flexible workforce, such as restaurants, hotels, shops, call centers, and gyms. The system automates what is otherwise time-consuming manual labor, which many small businesses struggle with.  Now, the company has secured a  $14million investment from Indinvest and Creandum to continue growing.

“The money comes at just the right time, because we have built a good momentum, and we would like to keep it. This applies both in relation to sales, our international expansion plans, and our product development.  The latter is especially important as it is key for many businesses today to be able to integrate with existing systems. That is why we are currently partnering with other players in the market, so we can become the leading system which connects managers and employees in real time,” says CEO of Planday, Christian Brøndum.

Today, more than 100,000 people use Planday’s software to, for example swap shifts between employees and handle payroll.  The startup now has more than 80 employees across 5 offices, and is used in 24 countries.  But the headquarters remains in the Islands Brygge neighborhood of Copenhagen.

“There is a lot of talent in Copenhagen, which has helped us compete in foreign markets.  We can find skilled developers and non-technical staff locally.  Thanks to the country’s good education and the Copenhagen startup environment, we have been able to lift ourselves up and today have a product that was developed locally, but is a frontrunner internationally,” says Christian Brøndum.

Investors see great potential

Idinvest Partners, is pleased to follow Planday’s expansion further into the US market:

“As Planday can now invest resources into connecting with different partners to further develop their software and integrate with various financial and HR systems, the benefits will be more and more obvious for customers.  And since the system is already adapted to the US market, which has many blue-collar workers, there is a gigantic market open for them in the US,” says Lead Investment Partner Guillaume Durao.

His Swedish co-investors share enthusiasm:

“We have from the beginning seen a huge potential in Planday because many companies such as restaurants, hotels, and fitness chains using incalculable boards or simple spreadsheets to keep track of employee shifts. Planday’s system assigns responsibility to employees and frees the heads of large parts of the administration, “says Johan Brenner from Creandum, who is investing in Planday for the second time.