Digital talent marketplace MBA & Company has closed its second funding round and attracted two new venture backers.
MMC Ventures has led an £800,000 investment into MBA & Company alongside fellow new backer Piton Capital and existing supporter Cabiedes.
To coincide with the deal, MBA & Company has recruited two industry heavyweights in the form of ex-COO of eBay and Lastminute.com David Kelly and Aleksi Asikainen, co-founder of Madbid.com. Kelly will be taking up the role of chairman whilst Asikainan has been installed as CTO.
London and New York-based MBA & Company provides corporates and SMEs with access to advisory and research work by way of an online network of freelance consultants. It was set up by Daniel Callaghan and Adam Riccoboni in 1999 and now has 16,000 professionals with at least an MBA, MSc or PhD signed up.
The £800,000 it has raised represents the second investment allocation it has secured since its foundation. In October 2010, Cabiedes and Finaves combined to inject €300,000 into the business.
MBA & Company’s new capital will reportedly be used to enhance its platform and grow sales and marketing.
Callaghan, CEO of MBA & Company, comments, ‘This is a market with significant potential and we are delighted that MMC, Piton and Cabiedes agree.
‘In his capacity as chairman, we look forward to utilising David’s substantial expertise in scaling operations and driving sales. As CTO, Aleksi’s experience will be invaluable to us as we invest in enhancing our clients’ user experience.’
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Kelly’s career has also seen him set up and become CEO at mydeco, act as operations director at Amazon and hold non-executive roles at website design and hosting business Basekit and Holiday Extras. Asikainen’s Madbid.com was set up in 2008 and received a £4 million Series A investment from Atomico in July 2010.
New investor MMC Ventures is focused on technology-enabled sectors such as financial and business services, business software, digital media and e-commerce. Its portfolio companies include sustainable construction company Breathing Buildings, holiday home business Love Home Swap (which also secured Kelly as chairman) and mobile tyre-fitting service Tyres on the Drive.
Jon Coker, director of MMC Ventures, adds, ‘The way that companies access and employ talent is changing and we believe MBA & Company’s focus on high-end consultancy is well positioned to benefit from this trend.
‘We have been very impressed by the growth they have shown to date and see huge potential for further international expansion.’
