Coordinating people, projects and their different locations has become a headache for companies in the post-pandemic world of remote and hybrid working.
There’s expensive office space to maintain, logistics to figure out which employees will actually be there and who will be working remotely each day. Let’s face it, previously hot desk management software – if it was ever used – was no longer up to the task.
In this world, the Chargifi – about which we wrote in 2015 – start-up found itself. They’ve been building Chargifi for seven years, giving users access to mobile power through the free app at any public location with a ‘Chargifi Spot’ – such as a bar, stadium, hotel or office. But when the pandemic hit, demand completely dried up for obvious reasons.
The team decided to reuse the software and products they had already built to manage wireless charging networks in offices.
Restart if Cadencethe startup now coordinates people, places and projects to enable hybrid co-working within teams.
Cadence screen
It has now raised a $10 million Seed funding round led by Kickstart Fund with participation from Manta Ray, Hambro Perks and Vectr7, as well as Shadow Ventures and Forward VC.
Kadence also attracted angel investors, including Cal Henderson, co-founder and CTO at Slack, Shaun Ritchie, CEO and founder of Teem, and Nick Bloom, Stanford professor, research leader and global authority on remote work.
Dan Bladen, CEO and founder of Kadence said in a statement: “Companies are now trying to figure out how to move from ‘order’ to ‘optimization’ and turn the ‘way’ they work into a competitive advantage. Companies that will win in the hybrid era will understand that the office is no longer the platform for work; the platform for work is now time (the work week) – companies that don’t get hybrid right won’t survive.
He says the company has now attracted 300 clients in the past 18 months, including companies like Collibra and Starling Bank.
It claims its software can reduce office space by 68% while increasing the number of employees coming to the office to collaborate by 25% month over month, with ensuing environmental benefits.
Nick Bloom, a Stanford Economics Professor, remote working expert and Kadence investor, said in a statement: “There is no doubt that hybrid is now the way the world will work in the future, and Kadence has delved into the most important aspect of hybrid: that hybrid should deliver better results for companies as a whole, not just facility managers, their focus on people coordination is where the market is going.”
Cal Henderson, co-founder and CTO at Slack and a new Kadence investor added, “And as the world becomes hybrid, it’s important for teams to find a rhythm to meet in person for collaboration and creativity. Kadence is an important part of helping companies create hybrid work, and I’m excited to be involved.”
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