Montage Talent, a Delafield, WI-based provider of video interviewing technology for businesses, has raised $6 million in a Series C round that will boost product development and accelerate its growth internationally.
The round was led by Beringea, a private equity firm based near Detroit, which invested $4 million. Participants included all the investors from Montage’s $4 million Series B round last year, Montage CEO Kurt Heikkinen said, including Baird Capital, Calumet Venture Fund, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Foley Ventures, and Gary Comer Inc.
The deal marks Beringea’s first investment in a Wisconsin company. Baird connected Montage with Beringea investors, Heikkinen said.
Montage has raised nearly $15 million since it was founded in 2007 by Mike Bonk, his brother, Andy Bonk, and Patrick Foy. (All three co-founders are still involved in the company.) Heikkinen joined Montage in 2010, when its products hit the market, he said.
The Series C money will be spent on sales and marketing initiatives, technology development (especially enhancing Montage’s mobile capabilities), growing its business partnerships, and expanding its worldwide footprint. Montage’s products are used in 140 countries, and the company plans to increase customer adoption overseas, particularly in Asia, Europe, and Africa, Heikkinen said.
“We’ve invested in the technology to support that globalization,” Heikkinen said in a phone interview today. “Now the brand development and marketing [will] expand.”
Montage employs 45 people at its Wisconsin headquarters and satellite locations around the U.S. Heikkinen said that number could grow by at least 50 percent in the next year, including putting boots on the ground in Asia and Europe.
It’s difficult to measure Montage’s market share, Heikkinen said, but he knows that the use of video interviewing technology—particularly customizable software like Montage’s—is increasing.
“Many companies may be dabbling with video interviewing by using Skype, WebEx, or some other video chat tool,” Heikkinen said. “They realize it’s not purpose-built. It’s not the right candidate experience. It doesn’t elevate their brand in way they want it to. It doesn’t integrate [with] their technology.”
Montage products do all of those things, he said.
Montage’s 150 clients—including Disney, Samsung, MetLife, and Humana—can send an e-invite to a job candidate to learn more about the potential employer before the interview. The candidate clicks a link and enters a “virtual foyer” with
