Today, we announced $7.5 million in Series A funding co-led by Emerson Collective and Voyager Capital. Fundraising is difficult and time consuming under normal circumstances, notwithstanding the pressure and stress of a global pandemic. But here’s the thing: layoffs and economic disaster don’t even the playing field, they exacerbate the unevenness, and put at risk the most vulnerable.
Pay equity is not a fad; it is enduring and a movement that is gathering strength. The attention brought to gender inequity by #MeToo, the US Women’s National Team and many iconic political and business leaders is not waning, but has grown to include greater awareness of pay inequity in terms of gender, race and the intersectionality of both. True equity requires companies to embrace transparency and continuously commit to fair total compensation. For any organization interested in building an inclusive environment, fair pay is fundamental.
That’s why I couldn’t be happier about this funding, and about the organizations leading this round. Emerson Collective is a mission-driven organization that is deeply committed to equity. Their Managing Director of Venture Investing, Fern Mandelbaum, is a deeply experienced entrepreneur who teaches classes about equity, diversity and entrepreneurship at Stanford Business School. Voyager Capital is a Pacific Northwest stalwart that focuses on data-driven disruption. Managing Director Diane Fraiman has an incredible operational background and reputation for helping develop high performing teams.
This round arms Syndio not just with the expertise of Emerson and Voyager, but with an ample runway that will allow Syndio to come out of the Covid crisis stronger than before. We are seeing significant interest and worry from companies around how layoffs will affect their pay equity, and Syndio is signing more clients even now.
Today, more than 60 companies with 3.5 million employees use Syndio’s software. Twenty-two of those companies are in the Fortune 500.
I look forward to the day when all Fortune 500 companies look at pay equity with the resolution of those 22. This funding is a step in that direction.
