Showpad Experiences Record Year With 90 Percent Growth in 2018, Increases Investment in Innovation in 2019
The sales enablement company will drive continued momentum with focus on technology research and development in 2019
CHICAGO, March 7, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Showpad, the leading sales enablement platform for modern sellers, reported a strong end to FY 2018, driven by continued global expansion and successful acquisitions which added new products and functionality. With 90 percent year-over-year growth, Showpad will continue building on this momentum, and solidify its position as a driver of innovation. The company continues to invest significantly in research and development (R&D), specifically growing its product and engineering teams, to continue leading the growth and transformation of the sales enablement industry.
"2018 was an exciting and incredibly productive year for Showpad. In the past 12 months, we made some big moves that are reshaping the sales enablement market. Even better, we were able to accomplish this while growing our global footprint, adding incredible executives to our leadership team, and driving commercial success," said Pieterjan Bouten, CEO of Showpad. "In 2019 and beyond, we will focus on executing on our platform strategy by pursuing our vision that the best buyer experience wins, and keep delivering the innovation that makes this possible."
Record Company Growth and North American Momentum
2018 was a strong year of customer, employee and geographical growth for the company. As part of that growth, Showpad also achieved significant milestones in company funding and product expansion, led by two major acquisitions:
- Moved past the 1,200 customer mark and added several major organizations to its roster, including Sun Life Financial U.S., Iron Mountain Incorporated, and DHL.
- Increased headcount to 400 global employees, with 200 employees in the US.
- Grew the North American headquarters in Chicago to more than 120 employees and recently moved into a 20,000 square foot space at 1 North State Street in Chicago's Loop.
- Hit the $100 million funding mark, with two rounds led by Insight Venture Partners and Dawn Capital, bringing the company's total funding to $120 million.
- Acquired two technology companies to broaden its sales enablement capabilities: the $50 million acquisition of LearnCore in June, and the acquisition of Voicefox in November. As a result, Showpad now offers a holistic solution for sales managers and their teams, combining industry-leading coaching capabilities with a globally recognized sales enablement platform.
Market Leadership Validated by Analysts, Fueled by R&D Investment
As validation for its strategy and momentum, Showpad was named a Leader in the Forrester Wave: Sales Enablement Automation Platforms Q3 2018. In the evaluation, Showpad received the highest possible score for its UI, the product roadmap, and support for global marketing and sales criteria.
"We have a unique vision for the future of sales enablement and believe that sales content and coaching paired with conversation intelligence will ultimately drive better customer engagement and incredible buyer experiences. And we've made big moves to make that vision a reality this year," said Louis Jonckheere, Chief Product Officer of Showpad. "To continue delivering on this vision we will continue to lead the industry with new innovation, which is why we're investing heavily in our product and engineering resources in the year ahead."
To drive this investment in R&D, Showpad has hired new talent and is doubling down on its commitment to innovation through the following investments:
- Hired 25-year veteran Lieven Baeyens as the company's VP of Engineering to grow and scale the Showpad engineering team.
- Dedicating nearly 30 percent of its revenue in R&D, well above the typical industry benchmark of 23 percent.
- Adding 250 employees in 2019 to support its heavy investment in product development. A new office in Wroclaw, Poland will focus on product and engineering, with plans to triple headcount in Poland by the end of the year.
To learn more about Showpad's product, mission and vision, visit showpad.com.
About Showpad
Showpad is the leading sales enablement platform for the modern seller. Showpad's all-in-one platform empowers sales and marketing teams to engage buyers by integrating industry leading training and coaching software with innovative content solutions. Using the most comprehensive data on successful sales interactions, Showpad fuels Artificial Intelligence to discover, replicate and automate what works for top performers.
Showpad serves more than 1,200 customers across the globe, including Johnson & Johnson, BASF, GE Healthcare, Fujifilm, Bridgestone, Prudential, Honeywell and Merck. Founded in 2011, the company has headquarters in Ghent and Chicago with offices in London, Munich, San Francisco and Portland. To learn more about Showpad, visit http://www.showpad.com or follow Showpad on Twitter and LinkedIn.
SOURCE Showpad
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