Oct 4, 2021

iTWire Monday, 04 October 2021 11:16 NZ startup Joyous raises NZ$15 million Featured 0 New Zealand founded workplace feedback startup Joyous has raised NZ$15 million in a new funding round to significantly expand its team and product for global companies. The latest capital raising was led by Australian venture capital firm Square Peg, with previous investors AirTree Ventures and Icehouse Ventures both returning for their third round. Joyous says the capital riasing will help it deliver on its mission to “make life better for people at work through continued product development of advanced natural language processing tools that enable large enterprises to understand feedback quickly and find opportunities for change”. “Joyous makes it possible to collect and act on open feedback across all areas of the organisation, replacing traditional one-way surveys that were anonymous and only used by HR, with two-way conversations that create regular improvements and support business objectives. By treating feedback as a conversation, not a funnel, leaders and teams can unearth issues and act together to create positive change,” Joyous said when announcing the latest fund raising. According to Joyous it has experienced record growth following the shift to remote work and acceleration of the need for more frequent, natural and agile employee interactions and today it is used globally by “market leading telecommunications providers and utilities, and the company has been racking up million dollar deals over the past 12 months”. This funding builds on Joyous’ massive momentum and strong vision to make employees happier through open, attributable feedback, while ensuring Joyous itself is a great place to work. This commitment is manifested through inventive initiatives, including Joyous’ collective leadership approach where the CEO role is shared by three – founding brothers Mike and Philip Carden and Ruby Kolesky – as well as industry leading parental and health policies, a culture of ‘radical autonomy’ where employees are empowered to make any decision, and the company’s own published approach to Engineering and Product collaboration called “Joyfully”. “Open feedback is the next evolution of the modern workforce and changing workplace,” said Mike Carden, Co-Founder in 2017 of Joyous with brother Phillip Carden. “Feedback is wasted if it’s only used for traditional HR objectives. At Joyous, we work with the world’s largest companies to help them manage change, identify issues and move more quickly – from derisking 5G rollout through feedback to supporting enterprise adoption of agile – we’re just at the tip of the iceberg.” “Joyous is tackling open feedback in a new and innovative way by changing how managers and employees talk to each other. They’re building something of real consequence – giving workers a voice, and helping companies champion trust, action and autonomy,” said Barry Brott, Co-Founder of Square Peg and Joyous Board Member. “Joyous’ continued growth is proof that globally ambitious, transformational companies can be built from anywhere.” John Henderson, Partner at AirTree Ventures said: “We were delighted to be Joyous’ first backers and are equally delighted to be doubling down now. Mike, Philip and the team are revolutionising open feedback within enterprise and the reaction Joyous has received from blue chip customers absolutely validates their approach. We think Joyous bears all the hallmarks of an iconic Kiwi software company.” Subscribe to ITWIRE UPDATE Newsletter here GRAND OPENING OF THE ITWIRE SHOP The much awaited iTWire Shop is now open to our readers. Visit the iTWire Shop, a leading destination for stylish accessories, gear & gadgets, lifestyle products and everyday portable office essentials, drones, zoom lenses for smartphones, software and online training. PLUS Big Brands include: Apple, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, Sennheiser and many more. Products available for any country. We hope you enjoy and find value in the much anticipated iTWire Shop.