Funds for NZ Firm Tracksuit as it Builds in US

Brand tracking specialist Tracksuit has raised $13.5m in Series A funding, which it will use for its official launch in the US and UK markets, and to expand its research and platform capabilities.

Founded in 2021 in New Zealand by co-CEOs Matt Herbert (pictured left) and Connor Archbold (right), Tracksuit surveys tens of thousands of people each week, tracking awareness, consideration, preference, and brand sentiment for more than 4,000 brands across representative markets and demographics, as well as benchmarking the brands against their competitors. The firm now has more than 60 employees and offices in New York City, Auckland, Sydney and London.

The Series A was led by Altos Ventures and Footwork, and adds to $4.5m raised earlier. Participants in the latest round include previous investors Blackbird, Icehouse Ventures, Ascential and Shasta Ventures.

Altos MD Anthony Lee, who will join Tracksuit's board as it builds in the US, comments: 'We're excited now to see US companies adopting Tracksuit's affordable, always-on solution to track the growth of their brands and empower their marketing teams to make data-driven decisions. Tracksuit has created a simple, beautiful solution to a very real problem, and we've heard from many customers who love the product. We were impressed by their early traction across four markets, all while being super efficient and maintaining a bootstrapped mindset'.

Also adding the benefit of their experience to the firm are Blackbird General Partner Samantha Wong, on the board; Footwork co-founder and General Partner Mike Smith as board observer; and marketing industry commentator Mark Ritson, who invested in Tracksuit's seed round, as a formal investor and advisor. Matthew Herbert, co-founder and Co-CEO of Tracksuit comments: 'The funding, along with our partnership with the Altos Ventures team, speeds up our plans to democratize brand marketing data and market research. It underscores the demise of growth-at-all-costs strategies and lifts the importance of full funnel and top-of-funnel marketing. By helping brands know what marketing efforts are working and how to discuss brand health with their teams, Tracksuit is putting them back in control of their brand-building success'.

Web site: www.gotracksuit.com/us .