Grovo

Grovo is a New York City-based technology company that provides a SaaS learning platform to improve and advance employee and organizational performance.[1]

Grovo
FoundedOctober 1, 2010 (2010-10-01)
Area servedGlobal
CEOSteven Carpenter
Industrylearning technology
URLwww.grovo.com

History

Grovo was founded in 2010 by co-founders Jeff Fernandez, Nick Narodny, and Surag Mungekar.[2] Originally, it was a consumer-focused company delivering video training for digital skills.[3] Grovo shifted to a B2B SaaS model in early 2013 and focused on developing its microlearning platform, aiming to provide everything employees need to learn to do their best work.

In May 2017, Axios reported that, the CEO along with the co-founders of the organization resigned from their posts, citing lack of financial discipline as the reason.[4][5]

In November 2018, Grovo was acquired by Cornerstone OnDemand. [6]

Business model

Grovo provides companies with a software-as-a-service learning platform.[2] Grovo refers to their approach as microlearning – 144-second video and audio lessons interspersed with short quizzes and practice assignments. In November 2017, Grovo announced a trademark on the term "Microlearning" from the U.S. Patents and Trademarks office.[7] Grovo's microlearning library covers topics including digital skills, soft skills, management training, and HR/compliance training. Trainers and managers have access to a dashboard with learning management system tools and training analytics, as well as a client service team that aligns learning strategy to business goals.[8]

Investors and funding

In May 2011 Grovo announced that it had closed its seed funding from Krishna "Kittu" Kolluri, general partner at New Enterprise Associates; Andy Dunn, CEO and Founder of Bonobos; Mareza Larizadeh of Larizadeh Capital Partners; and, others.[9]

On July 17, 2013, Grovo announced a $5.5 million Series A round of venture capital funding.[10][11] Greg Waldorf, CEO-in-residence at Accel Partners and founding investor and former CEO of e-Harmony, led the financing, which also included Jeff Clavier of SoftTech VC, Greg Sands of Costanoa Venture Capital, and Andy Dunn of Red Swan Ventures. Greg Waldorf joined the Board of Directors.[12]

On February 18, 2015, Grovo announced a $15 million Series B round from existing investors Accel Partners, Costanoa Venture Capital, Greg Waldorf and SoftTech VC.[2] The round closed on August 8, 2014. Accel's Sameer Gandhi joined Grovo's Board of Directors, along with Kirk Bowman.

On January, 2016, Grovo announced a $40 million Series C round led by Accel Partners with additional funding from previous backers Costanoa Venture Capital, SoftTech VC and Greg Waldorf, plus new investor Vayner Capital. To date, Grovo has raised a total of $65 million.[13]

Reception

2014

Internet Week named Grovo the "Best Place to Work in New York City Tech".[14]

2015

CNNMoney named Grovo one of the "30 Most Disruptive Upstarts".[15] Entrepreneur named the company one of the "Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America"[16] and one of the "Best Company Cultures in 2015".[17] The company was named "New York Startup of the Year" by Tech.Co,[18] one of "NYC's Hottest Startups" by Symmetry50,[19] and listed on the Crain's New York Business Top 100 Best Places to Work 2015.[20] CEO Jeff Fernandez has spoken about the company's culture at events including SXSW,[21] NewCo Festival New York, TEDx,[22] Internet Week,[23] and The Next Web Conference. Grovo's educational content and technology has been recognized with awards from Chief Learning Officer, Training Industry, and the ATD. Grovo was named one of the top learning management systems of 2015 by PC Magazine.[9]

2016

No.2 on Fortune's 100 Best Medium Workplaces[24]

See also

References
  1. "Grovo Expands Platform Capabilities with New Features to Support Progressive Learning Programs at Scale". Yahoo Singapore Finance. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  2. Ha, Anthony. "Grovo Raises $15M More To Help Businesses Train Their Employees With Bite-Sized Videos". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  3. "Online training site Grovo launches to help you demystify the Web". VentureBeat. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  4. "Just 15 Months After Raising $40M, Grovo's CEO and Co-Founders Are Out - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  5. "Exclusive: Grovo CEO and co-founders are out". Axios. 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  6. "CORRECTING and REPLACING Cornerstone Accelerates Momentum in Content with Acquisition of Grovo". 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  7. Jacobs, Susan. "Grovo Secures Microlearning Trademark". Learning Solutions Mag. Learning Solutions Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  8. Fenton, William (June 30, 2015). "Grovo LMS". PC Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  9. Empson, Rip. "Grovo: Video Training Platform Grabs Funding To Help Startups Educate Their Users". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  10. "Grovo Raises $5.5M Series A to Teach Techie Skills (EdSurge News)". EdSurge. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  11. Goode, Lauren (July 17, 2013). "Grovo, a "How-To" Video Company for Web Services and Apps, Raises $5.5 Million in Funding". AllThingsD. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  12. "Grovo Lands $5.5M Series A to Accelerate RealTime Internet Training". newsmaker.com.au. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  13. Ha, Anthony. "Grovo Raises $40M To Deliver Employee Training With Quick, Digestible Content". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  14. "Press Releases – Internet Week New York". internetweekny.com. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  15. "The Idealists". CNN. June 29, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  16. "The Success Secrets That Helped the 'Best Practicers' Land on the Entrepreneur360". Entrepreneur. October 7, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  17. "The 25 Best Large-Company Cultures in 2015". Entrepreneur. November 4, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  18. "Tech.Co Startup of the Year: Online Semifinalists". September 1, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  19. "The 34 Hottest Startups In NYC". Symmetry50. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  20. "Crain's names 2015 Best Places to Work". Crain's New York Business. CrainsNewYork.com. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  21. "The Millennials: Empowering a Modern Workforce". SXSW. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  22. Learning in a Wired World. August 13, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2016 – via YouTube.
  23. The Workplace Experience: Inspiring Talent Today and Tomorrow. InternetWeek. June 25, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2016 – via YouTube.
  24. "Grovo". Fortune. October 12, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016.

Further reading
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