BlueCart, Inc., a leading hospitality industry marketplace and sales enablement platform, secured $5 million in Series B-1 investment from Greycroft this quarter, bringing the total amount raised by the company to $22 million.
The funding comes as BlueCart is scaling at an unprecedented rate in the hospitality sector, with 27,000 new buyer accounts and 3,100 additional wholesalers joining the platform in Q1 2018 alone.
To both meet the demands of this growth, and enable further scale, BlueCart is currently developing the BlueCart Procurement Assistant, a forecasting tool that combines machine learning with predictive technologies to simultaneously increase both seller revenue and buyer satisfaction on the platform. Greycroft’s investment is a strong vote of confidence for this high priority initiative.
In addition to fresh capital, BlueCart gains two key team members with this raise: Greycroft Venture Partner and Entrepreneur-in-Residence Bo Peabody will join BlueCart’s Board of Directors, while Greycroft Partner and Co-founder Dana Settle will bring her industry knowledge and a history of successful ventures to BlueCart’s team as a Board Observer.
Peabody has not only invested in successful startups that sold to Disney and Getty, but is also co-owner of Mezze Restaurant Group, and a board member of Boqueria Restaurant Group. He joins current Board of Director member David Barber, co-founder of New York’s renowned Blue Hill restaurant, in contributing significant, hospitality-focused operational expertise to BlueCart’s leadership.
“As an industry insiders, we have front row seats to the digital revolution occurring in the hospitality industry,” Peabody said. “We have seen several vertically focused solutions come and go, but BlueCart’s presence has continued to grow by addressing the broader problems of Food Service venues.”
Settle not only adds years of experience with high-growth startups, but also brings much needed new perspective to BlueCart’s previously all male board. Gender balance and diversity have been a focal point for BlueCart, which pledged in 2016 to make a balanced workforce a core value of the company.
“We have to be a little picky about who we decide to bring on as investors at this stage,” says BlueCart CEO Konstantin Zvereff, “But Bo and Dana’s mix of expertise and experience match our goals as a company perfectly, and we are so excited to bring the Greycroft team into the BlueCart family.”
