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Marketing resource management firm Simple has raised $17 million to roll out its new Intelligent Marketing Platform globally. The round is led by Brett Blundy’s BBRC Private Equity, with existing investor Perle Ventures also increasing its investment.
The fresh round of capital will expedite Simple’s expansion into new markets in Europe and further develop its existing business in the US. The investment is BBRC Private Equity’s first after it was established as part of BBRC’s new Capital Management division earlier this year.
Simple’s MRM software is an upstream planning solution and central marketing workplace that transforms the way enterprise marketing teams work to enable organisations to increase the return on their marketing budget. It leverages Microsoft’s expertise in artificial intelligence and Simple’s deep knowledge of marketing operations to give marketers new insights into the effectiveness of their marketing activity.
Last month Simple unveiled its new Intelligent Marketing Platform, which is built on Microsoft’s Azure Intelligent Cloud, on the global stage at Microsoft’s Inspire partners’ conference in Las Vegas. Simple has become a Cloud Solution Provider for Microsoft, which provides engineering and marketing support, as well as a co-selling arrangement expected to drive strong growth for Simple’s MRM software in key markets.
Simple Chief Executive Officer Aden Forrest (pictured), who has a track record of building fast-growing marketing technology businesses in the region including Marketo, Salesforce.com and Siebel, said BBRC’s investment validated the global market opportunity available to Simple’s new Intelligent Marketing Platform.
“Simple is scaling up our US team to take full advantage of our Microsoft partnership and other alliances so we can disrupt the marketing resource management sector,” Mr Forrest said. “This funding injection enables us to bring forward our plans to do the same in other markets.
“BBRC has a long history of scaling businesses and we are delighted they see the same potential we do in transforming the value organisations get for their marketing dollar.”
BBRC Private Equity Chief Executive Officer Joseph Kim said the decision to invest in Simple was driven as much by the company’s leadership and values, as by its technology and market opportunity.
“We believe Simple has the opportunity to scale exponentially and win its market, with leadership that’s very consistent with our culture,” Mr Kim said. “We look forward to a successful partnership with Aden and Perle Ventures.”
“Simple offers the solution to a perennial problem marketing teams face globally,” Perle Ventures Managing Director Michael An said. “BBRC shares our vision of what Simple can accomplish and we look forward to working together to help Aden and the team make this happen.”
Simple is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and the US. Its blue-chip customers span the banking, superannuation, retail and entertainment sectors.
BBRC Private Equity is a Sydney-based private equity group established in April 2018 as part of BBRC Capital Management, the funds management division of Brett Blundy’s private investment company, BBRC. BBRC Private Equity was co-founded and is led by CEO Joseph Kim. It is a long-term investor, pursuing partnerships with business owners and leaders that have a vision to win their market category.
Perle Ventures is a Sydney-based venture capital group that invests in growth-stage technology companies led by founders that couple vision with discipline, to build scalable enterprises with a global perspective.