Tracksuit closes Silicon Valley-led Series A 

Kiwi brand-tracking startup Tracksuit has announced a successful NZ$22 million Series A funding round, led by Silicon Valley-based technology investment firm Altos Ventures, and early-stage focused venture capital firm Footwork.  

Tracksuit was founded in 2021 by co-CEOs Matt Herbert and Connor Archbold as a new way for companies to measure, understand and communicate the value of their brands. 

Headquartered in Auckland, with offices in Sydney, the UK and New York, it has grown to more than 60 full-time employees and is now tracking more than 4,000 brands across New Zealand, Australia, the US, the UK and Canada.

The funding round marks the company’s second external investment, reaching a valuation of $152 million and achieving $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in just under three years. 

High-profile investors who also participated in the round include Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown, Australian skincare brand and existing Tracksuit customer Frank Body co-founder Bree Johnson, and ex-Airbnb product lead and founder of Lenny’s Newsletter Lenny Rachitsky. 

The company’s funding to date now sits at about $29.6 million, with existing investors Blackbird, Icehouse Ventures, Ascential and Shasta Ventures also participating in the Series A round.

Herbert and Archbold, along with previous backers such as Previously Unavailable, have seen their pre-Series A shares diluted. 

The raise marks the move from “experimentation” to building and scaling in the US and the UK, including delivering products and value to new and existing customers, marketing and building an international team, says Archbold. 

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Knowing when to raise

When it comes to funding rounds, the focus for Tracksuit is on investor alignment more than money, says Archbold. 

Tracksuit has been built to be cash flow positive if need be, he explains: “We only raise money when we know what we want to spend it on. [...] We don’t get ourselves into the position of needing to raise money.” 

Prior to the round, he says the team knew the kind of investor they wanted to work with. Notably, says Archbold, they had to exhibit “kindness”. 

It’s something Tracksuit looks for in its hires, he says, and its investors. 

Other attributes it looks for in new investors include an ability to fill gaps in the team or among other investors, and believing wholeheartedly in the company. 

Altos Ventures filled the startup’s criteria. 

Founded in 1996, Altos has partnered with more than 200 companies worldwide. It has a concentrated approach to venture capital, supporting companies from inception to global growth and profitability. 

“Tracksuit has created a simple, beautiful solution to a very real problem, and we’ve heard from many customers who love the product,” says managing director Anthony Lee. 

“We were impressed by their early traction across four markets, all while being super-efficient and maintaining a bootstrapped mindset,” he says, citing his belief in Tracksuit’s potential for long-term, sustainable growth. 

Along with investing in the company, Lee will join Tracksuit’s board to provide expertise and guidance as it focuses on US expansion in 2024. He joins Blackbird general partner Samantha Wong. 

Footwork co-founder and general partner Mike Smith will also join as a board observer. Marketing expert Mark Ritson joins the ranks as a formal advisor. 

The investors are an “epic complement to our global team", says Archbold. 

Archbold’s tip for finding the right investors is to have “lots of meetings”, with every conversation a valuable learning experience, he says. 

“I’m sure the first conversations I had with US investors, I was probably talking more like a Kiwi founder. By the 110th conversation, you’re in a different mode,” he explains. 

And while most of the conversations won’t lead to investment, he advises taking the opportunity to also ask, ‘hey, can you introduce me to two or three people that might be a fit?’ 

Last year, Archbold and his family spent three months in New York to “go deep” on investor conversations – of which there were hundreds. He says being in the market for a significant time showed a level of commitment important for US investors unfamiliar with Kiwi companies. 

But if he was going to do it again, he probably wouldn’t pack as many conversations as he did into the same day, he says. “I gave myself three months to have all these conversations, but it didn’t really matter. I could have started even earlier and finished even later.”