$11M Funding Round to Support Troop Expansion

Meetings management platform Troop has raised $11 million in its latest fundraising round, which the company plans to use to boost its staff and footprint and to launch an end-to-end platform later this year.

The fund-raising round was led by Madrona Venture Group and Durable Capital Partners. Madrona, led by Concur co-founder Steve Singh, also led Troop’s previous $8 million fundraising round, and Singh now is Troop’s executive chairman. Durable also led a recent $75 million fundraising round for cloud-based booking platform Spotnana, at which Singh also is chairman and Madrona a lead investor.

Durable managing partner and chief investment officer Henry Ellenbogen in a statement said that “Troop sits at the forefront of the rapidly changing workplace and is well-positioned to deliver value for companies organizing in-person meetings in a more remote world.”

Other participants in the fundraising round include All Iron Ventures and Conexo Ventures.

Troop, the judges’ pick at the BTN Group’s 9th annual Innovate conference last year, is a technology platform connected to data sources that help companies determine and plan meeting locations, considering such variables as employee location, direct flight ability, environmental impact, travel times and visa requirements. The company claims users see savings up to 22 percent in cost, time and carbon emissions for in-person meetings.

The latest investment will go toward broadening Troop’s international footprint—Troop currently is in the U.S., Spain, South Africa and the U.K.—and continue “rapid expansion across Europe and the U.S.,” according to Troop, as well as expanding its customer and sales teams. Troop’s staff has grown from six to 40 over the past 15 months, and it plans to double its staff this year.

In addition, the investment will support the launch of Troop One later this year, a platform that adds booking, management and expense capabilities via integrations including Spotnana and Center, also co-founded by Singh. The platform will “offer flexibility for customers to work with their service providers of choice,” according to Troop.

Michael B. Baker www.businesstravelnews.com