Cloud software company Timely has successfully closed a $7m funding round, led by experienced local technology investor Movac.
Timely was founded in 2012 by Ryan Baker, Andrew Schofield and William Berger. Timely provides cloud-based booking software to the global salon and spa sector. The company has more than 8,000 business customers across 85 countries with staff based in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
Previously, Ryan and Andrew founded booking engine BookIt with Ian Taylor in Dunedin, which they sold to Trade Me in 2010.
Movac Partner David Beard comments “As serial entrepreneurs, Ryan and Andrew’s passion for building great software is evident in the quality of the team they’ve assembled, and the rapid growth in the five years since they created the company.”
“Timely has gained significant traction in several key international markets, and achieved strong growth rates in each of those. For us, their market validation and execution was compelling.
“Timely have also won a number of national tech awards including Emerging Company of the Year 2017 in the NZ Hi-tech Awards, which is additional endorsement of what they’ve accomplished in a relatively short space of time. We‘re looking forward to working with Ryan and his team, and sharing in their future successes.”
Timely CEO Ryan Baker said he was “stoked” about Movac’s investment.
“We’ve made a great start with Timely and learned a lot, especially in the past year having funded the business from revenue. The size of the opportunity in this space has always excited us and this funding allows us to unlock a bunch of growth initiatives. There’s a heap of value we want to add to the salon and spa industry, world-wide.”
“We’re delighted to have secured investment from Movac. Obviously the capital is important, but so is Movac’s experience in helping to grow the tech companies that they invest in. Getting the right cultural alignment is vital for a company like ours, the #timelylife culture and the people in our company have been a big part of our success to date.
We’re at the start line again. The stakes are raised. The work starts now.”
Timely operates a unique style of remote working with most of its 47 staff working from home. They call it #timelylife and it celebrates staff bringing their “whole self” to work, giving them autonomy to wrap their work around their family and personal lives.
The funding will be used to fund product development and rapidly grow market presence. A number of new roles will be advertised by Timely as the company heads into this new phase of growth. Mr Beard will join the Timely board.
Phil McCaw, Movac Managing Partner commented, “We’ve been investing in NZ tech companies for almost 20 years, and over that time, the quality of investment opportunities has improved dramatically. We’re delighted to have Timely as our fourth investment in our latest Fund.”
About Timely:
Timely is the world’s best-loved salon and spa software for the beauty and wellness industries. Their mission is to help people be time efficient, succeed and achieve their ideal blend of business and lifestyle. It was recognised at the 2017 NZ Hi-Tech Awards as the Emerging Hi-Tech company of the year and by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in the 2016 International Business Awards.
About Movac:
Movac is New Zealand’s largest and most experienced technology investment fund manager. Movac provides growth funding across multiple investment rounds and supports companies with mentoring, advice, and access to international networks.
Founded in 1998, Movac has been investing in NZ companies with high growth potential. Over that time, significant returns have been generated for investors with notable results achieved with PowerbyProxi, Trade Me, eBus, GreenButton, and Givealittle. Current portfolio companies include Aroa Biosurgery, Author-it, 1Above, Modlar, Vend, Unleashed Software, Parking Sense and Timely.