The company's data-collection processes dramatically expand the number of companies evaluated, well beyond those that would come through an investor, acquirer, or company owner referral networks. The platform currently provides data on 13 million companies worldwide, which includes 4 million in the U.S. Cyndx is adding Spanish and German translation, which will allow it to increase the universe of companies it analyzes by about 50%. The analysis is done in seconds.
As an investment banker, Jim also wanted to get a higher valuation than a pre-revenue company would get. Delaying fundraising meant the couple funded the business themselves until 2015—the year Cyndx raised $500,000 from friends and family. In 2017, they raised $10 million from Rakuten Capital, a corporate venture capital group with a financial services focus.
In the first few years, when they were self-funding the business, managing cash flow was a constant balancing act. They needed to have money to develop new products and improve existing ones. Do you focus on increasing data collection or fine-tuning the technology?"Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?" asked Elise. Prioritization was key.