SmartSuite, a startup founded by the creators of risk management platform Archer Technologies, has announced a significant funding round of $38 million to fuel its growth and expansion. The company's platform enables teams to collaborate on projects, build automations, and search and access work across multiple apps, and has seen a remarkable 300% growth in the last year, with 50,000 users from 5,000 businesses.

The funding, which was invested over several tranches, includes a $13 million Series A round led by Canapi Ventures, with Sorenson Capital and High Alpha participating. Prior to this, SmartSuite's founders, Jon and Tara Darbyshire, along with Peter Novosel, bootstrapped the company with their own money, investing $11 million pre-launch in 2022 and $14 million after that.

The Derbyshires' previous experience with Archer Technologies, which they sold to EMC (now Dell) for $200 million in 2010, has provided valuable insights and connections in the enterprise space. Their new venture, SmartSuite, aims to address the pain points of fragmented work management tools, which often require users to navigate multiple apps and integrations.

According to Jon Darbyshire, CEO of SmartSuite, the platform brings together three key software use cases: project management, process management, and document management. This allows teams to manage any process, from CRM to cybersecurity, risk, and compliance, in a single platform. To facilitate onboarding, SmartSuite has developed over 200 templates for common workflows and supports integrations with around 5,000 applications, including popular tools like Slack, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce.

The startup's ability to simplify complex processes, such as Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), has attracted the attention of financial institutions and enterprises. Walker Forehand, president and general partner of Canapi Ventures, highlighted SmartSuite's potential to remove complexity from these processes, which is a significant selling point for the platform.

SmartSuite's growth to date has been largely viral, driven by YouTube video content created by its partners, with around 600 videos covering different integrations and uses. The company is now hiring a formal marketing team to further accelerate its expansion. The new funding will also be used for recruitment and product development, as SmartSuite continues to innovate and improve its platform.

With its unique approach to work management and automation, SmartSuite is poised to make a significant impact in the enterprise technology space. As the company continues to grow and expand its user base, it will be interesting to see how it addresses the challenges of scaling and meeting the evolving needs of its customers.