Front (company)

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Front
TypePrivate
IndustrySoftware
Founded2013
FoundersMathilde Collin
Laurent Perrin
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Mathilde Collin (CEO)
Laurent Perrin (CTO)
ProductsCollaboration software, Front shared inbox, Front Calendar
Number of employees
200[citation needed] (2021)
Websitefrontapp.com

Front is a privately held San Francisco, California-based software company that develops a shared email inbox and calendar product. Its collaboration software allows companies to communicate with customers.[1]

The company received media coverage for its high percentage of female executives and staffers, considered unusual for a tech company.[2]

History[]

Front was founded in Paris, France in 2013 by current CEO Mathilde Collin and CTO Laurent Perrin.[1] Its first product was a shared inbox for employees to collectively manage and reply to generic group emails such as "support@company.com" or "info@company.com".[3] A majority of Front's early users were in the United States, so it moved to San Francisco just a few months later.[1]

In 2014, Front participated in the startup incubator program at Y Combinator and raised $3.1 million in seed funding.[1] The company launched its service in June 2014.[4]

By April 2016, the company reported it had over 1,000 paid customers, including French luxury company LVMH and marketing software company Hubspot.[5] In May, the company raised another $10 million in 2016, with participation from Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield.[5]

In January 2018, the company raised $66 million in a series B funding round led by investment firm Sequoia Capital.[1][6] The company also opened an engineering office in Paris.[6] In October, the company acquired calendar software startup Meetingbird, as its first acquisition.[2][7]

By March 2019, the company had over 4,700 customers, with over 100 employees.[3][2]

In January 2020, the company raised $59 million in a Series C funding round, valuing it at an estimated $800 million. The round was notable for the funding coming from other tech executives rather than traditional venture capital companies.[8]

Products[]

Front's main product is a shared inbox that integrates a business team's communications channels including email, live chat, SMS text messages, voice, and CRM software such as Salesforce into a consolidated inbox.[9]

The company also offers a shared calendar called Front Calendar, allowing employees to manage meetings including scheduling meetings by sharing available times.[7]

Operations[]

Front is headquartered in San Francisco, with an engineering office located in Paris.[6] The company reported 200 employees as of March 2021.[citation needed] As of August 2020, the company reported it had over 6,000 customers.[10] The company is also notable for being a tech company with a female CEO, which CEO Collin has written about, and for women making up over 50% of its executive team.[2][11]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Bastone, Nick (October 23, 2018). "This first-time CEO has a 100% approval rating on Glassdoor and her company just made its first acquisition". Business Insider. Retrieved March 24, 2021.(subscription required)
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Chan, Rosalie (March 25, 2019). "Hot startup Front hires its first CFO, making its executive leadership team 50% women. The CEO explains why that's so important". Business Insider. Retrieved March 24, 2021.(subscription required)
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Konrad, Alex (April 10, 2019). "Startup Front Shakes Up Pricing To Take Its Email Collaboration Mainstream". Forbes. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  4. ^ Dillet, Romain (June 18, 2014). "Front Is A Shared Inbox App That Makes Email Suck Less". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Konrad, Alex (May 26, 2016). "Front Raises $10 Million From Slack's Founder And Investors To Fix External Email". Forbes. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Konrad, Alex (January 24, 2018). "How Front Founder Mathilde Collin Raised $66 Million From Sequoia In Five Days". Forbes. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Dillet, Romaine (April 10, 2019). "Front announces Front Calendar to integrate scheduling with shared inboxes". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  8. ^ Konrad, Alex (January 22, 2020). "Email Startup Front Raises Rare $59 Million Round Led By Other Software Founders". Forbes. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  9. ^ Keane, Jonathan (January 24, 2018). "French startup Front raises $66 million for its shared inbox". Tech EU. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "Popular email startup Front poached a sales leader from Intercom as it looks to become a platform for all of a business' communications with its customers". Business Insider. October 7, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2021.(subscription required)
  11. ^ "Mathilde Collin: I'm a Woman CEO and It Doesn't Change Anything". Wall Street Journal. August 4, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2021.(subscription required)

External links[]

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