Shoeboxed Raises $500,000, Becoming One-Stop Shop

Company Rolling Out New Services, Partnerships, and a New Hackathon Series

BY MONICA CHEN • 8.22.12

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Filed Under: NEWS: Startups


Shoeboxed has raised $500,000 of funding in debts and options. The company is recalibrating its core business to become a “one-stop shop” for small business' accounting needs.

The five-year-old company, which has specialized in scanning receipts for small businesses -- “Shoeboxed,” for a shoebox of receipts -- also reached a new milestone this year: 500,000 accounts opened since founding.

With the new infusion of cash, adding to the company's $1.4 million fundraiser from Novak Biddle in 2011, Shoeboxed has begun making new hires in every department. Currently, there are about 85 workers -- 25 full-timers and about 60 part-timers -- up from 40 workers at the start of 2011.

“...We're taking our service to the next level to become the only bookkeeper a small business owner will ever need,” said CEO Taylor Mingos in a prepared statement.

Long plugged into the local startup community since its founding (Taylor also co-founded Downtown Durham Startups, a directory and job board for, well, downtown Durham startups), the company has been strengthening its local connections more this year. There has been a hackathon series, new partnerships with local businesses, and the creation of a "Shop Local" badge to recognize customers whose receipts have shown a particular interest in shopping local.

When I caught up with Jake Brereton, Shoeboxed's marketing manager, to chat about the new dual strategy, here's what he had to say:

“We want to be a resource for small businesses all over the country. We can't do that without looking in our backyard.”

On becoming a one-stop shop:
Shoeboxed has just launched a new executive plan with access to 1800Accountant, and is strengthening partnerships with Intuit, Wave Accounting, Evernote, among others.

“When we hit the 500,000 mark, that was a big deal,” Jake said. “We took a look at the phenomenal year and looked at where our opportunities are. We did surveys and a deep dive into our accounts, and out of that came the message that there continues to be an increasing need for receipt management services. We've gotten very good and efficient at that, but there's a larger opportunity out there for people who are starting a business. We want to be the one place where people can get every need met, such as maximizing their tax reimbursements. There's a ton of opportunity for people to get reimbursements.”

On staying focused on the local community:

The company has a new partnership with Impact Shred & Recycle in Raleigh and is now using Contactology, also of Durham, as its e-mail marketing provider.

"We just especially want to be in this area. We really want to be a thought leader in the space of technology and entrepreneurship. We've been around quite a while and we want to use the resources we have, to make this area a great place to come and grow and start a business.”

Clarification: The original version of this post stated that Shoeboxed's raise was from Novak Biddle Venture Partners. Shoeboxed COO and CFO Tobias Walter clarified that although Novak Biddle partners are on the SEC filing, they are not investors. They are board members of Shoeboxed. Walter declined to say who the debt raise is from.

Companies We Mentioned In This Post

Novak Biddle Venture Partners
Shoeboxed




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