SleekFlow, a SaaS omnichannel social commerce platform, has launched a UK operation following a £6.7 million Series A funding round.
The company, which has over 5,000 clients globally, has appointed eCommerce industry specialist Craig Johnson as its UK sales director and opened its doors in Waterloo, London.
Johnson previously led business development at shipping eCommerce provider Easyship, tasked with overseeing new business, brand strategy and growing the sales department.
Prior to this he spent four years serving as regional sales manager for Mindbody, with responsibility for growing the UK and EU market and supporting its IPO. The company went on to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2019 for $1.9 billion.
He will be tasked with growing SleekFlow’s UK operation, including building the customer pipeline, developing the sales team, and expanding its operations by hiring up to 50 staff in the next three years.
The SleekFlow platform integrates over 2,500 tools and messaging channels, such as the official WhatsApp Business API, Facebook Messenger and Instagram Business, by utilising smart routing and targeted automation campaigns to help businesses track and retain potential sales leads from both online and offline avenues.
With the newly launched one-click checkout payment feature, businesses can now get paid in chat directly, developing a complete conversion funnel on social for boosting revenue and profits.
From its founding team of three, SleekFlow has now expanded to 60 team members strong across regions including the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The brand has seen a valuation growth of 1,200% in the last 12 months and 500% revenue growth.
It aims to scale the business internationally, from countries across SEA and Europe.
The latest funding round was led by New York-based venture capital firm Tiger Global Partners, whose notable investments include Facebook, Bytedance, UiPath, Toast, and Databricks. It also featured Transcend Capital and AEF Greater Bay Area Fund, which is managed by Gobi Partners GBA.
Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) participated in last year’s pre-Series A round.
“SleekFlow is an incredible business, and I am excited about the opportunity to work alongside Henson and the team to develop and scale-up our UK operation,” said Johnson.
“We have huge plans for this market, supported by a product and services that will revolutionise how organisations operate and communicate through social commerce.”
Henson Tsai, founder of SleekFlow, commented: “Craig is the perfect choice to lead our newly launched UK business, bringing with him a huge array of skills and understanding about the local market.
“Following our highly successful funding round, we have pledged to create many new jobs in the UK market and rapidly expand our operations, offering customers incredible capabilities through our platform.”