In a Series B financing deal led by Sozo Ventures, New York-based Handshake raised $14 million, the company announced Thursday.
Handshake developed a mobile sales and business-to-business e-commerce platform and works with distributors and manufacturers of various consumer goods. The company basically wants to offer for business-to-business what Shopify and Square do for retailers who sell to consumers. Prior investors BOLDstart Ventures, Emergence Capital, MHS Capital, Point Nine, SoftTech VC, and Primary Venture Partners participated in the latest round. Handshake has raised a total of $23.5 million since 2010, when it was founded.
Glen Coates, CEO of Handshake, says the new funding will go towards further developing its mobile and Web applications into a full platform. The funding will also help grow the staff of 60 to about 100 by year’s end. Among other departments, the company plans new hires for its product and engineering team to help develop sales automation and other e-commerce functions to meet the needs of larger businesses, he says. The company’s mobile application has been seeing more use among retailers who need to replenish merchandise on their shelves, Coates says.
The sales and marketing staff will also expand with the new funding, he says, in order to grow Handshake’s customer base. “We’re hiring for mobile, and the Web, and the kind of platform that sits underneath it all,” Coates says.
