This article was originally published in Sales Tech Series.
After $12 million in Series A funding and tripling its team in FY21, Qualified kicks off new fiscal year with key executive hires as leading enterprise brands, such as Adobe and VMware, join its roster
Qualified, the conversational sales and marketing platform for revenue teams that use Salesforce, today announced its strongest year in company history, with 800% revenue growth. The company reached additional milestones in FY21 as it secured $12 million in Series A funding with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures, and tripled its team size.
In FY21, Qualified brought on seasoned executives with a proven track record of scaling billion-dollar businesses; longtime Salesforce executive Dan Darcy joined as Chief Customer Officer, and Acquia alumnus Eric Sikola joined as President and Chief Revenue Officer. Qualified grew headcount in every area of the business, with large investments in the engineering and customer success organizations. Looking forward, Qualified plans to double headcount in the next year.
Qualified reported a 175% net revenue retention rate, indicating exceptional renewals and expansion within its installed base. Industry leaders like Adobe, Tech Data, Tradeshift, Sodexo, SurveyMonkey and VMware also joined Qualified’s growing roster of enterprise customers, and saw immediate business impact. As Qualified’s customer base grew, so did its relationships with leading enterprise technology partners. In FY21, Qualified embarked on new and expanded partnerships with CRM giant Salesforce, as well as Slack, 6sense, Demandbase, Marketo, HubSpot, Clearbit, ZoomInfo and Microsoft.
“Qualified has driven an additional $12 million in sales pipeline,” said Joe Leverson, Head of Digital Marketing at Gamma. “As a marketing leader, conversational sales and marketing is the single-most valuable investment you can make.”
Moreover, FY21 was a momentous year for industry awards and recognition. Qualified is now the #1 conversational sales and marketing platform on the Salesforce AppExchange, and recognized as an industry leader by G2, leading the pack on the Conversational Marketing, Live Chat and Chat Bot momentum reports.
“FY21 was a banner year for our business,” said Qualified Founder and CEO Kraig Swensrud. “This past year, more than ever, companies needed new ways for sales teams to have conversations with target buyers across digital channels, and we’re thrilled to support that movement. The enthusiasm around this space sets us on a path for tremendous growth in the next year.”
2020 created a tipping point for B2B companies, propelling them into an all-digital era. Companies needed to adopt new channels and technology to connect with buyers and generate pipeline. With that shift, revenue teams realized that the corporate website was an untapped resource. Conversational sales and marketing expands the corporate website to be so much more than just marketing real estate; it’s now the place for sales teams to talk to target buyers at the moment they’re ready to engage in a conversation, paving the way for Qualified’s record-setting year.
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