A Swansea-based software start-up has secured three new high-profile hires from the likes of billion-dollar tech companies and as far away as New York, London and Berlin following Welsh Government investment.
Veeqo are the world’s number one eCommerce management platform and recently received £500,000 of Welsh Government funding that helped finance the new hires along with other new business growth opportunities.
Cerys Davies joins as head of HR, Tom Weeks as VP of global sales and Mark Robertson as head of channel sales & strategic partnerships.
The news marks a year of rapid growth at Veeqo with £1.2 million of crowdfunding being secured in December 2016 to follow on from £2.5m earlier raised via the Seedrs platform and New Look founder Tom Singh.
This funding has seen over 20 new staff come on board in the last 12 months, with a total of 168 more jobs due to be created over the next three years.
“I’m really proud that we’ve secured this world class tech industry talent to join Veeqo in Wales. Outside the main start-up areas like Silicon Valley and London, it is more challenging to find the right talent as we scale the company, but this proves it can be done and I am really excited about the future,” said Veeqo CEO Matt Warren.
Veeqo was named as one of BusinessCloud’s 101 Tech Start-up Disrupters this summer.
Davies has relocated to Swansea after spending the previous 12 years in New York leading the North America HR department for internet giant Trustpilot as well as Medidata and Thunderhead.com.
Weeks will look to expand Veeqo into a variety of markets, including the US, after four years at tech heavyweight Ve Interactive, where he played a major role in its establishment as one of the first British tech companies to be valued at more than $1bn.
Robertson joins Veeqo from BCSG after helping that firm become one of only 13 companies to be listed on the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 three years in a row, thanks to strategic partnerships he built with well-known brands like Google, Xero, GoDaddy and Microsoft.
“I’m delighted about being able to bring Mark, Cerys and Tom to Veeqo,” added Warren.
“Their experience and abilities are a fantastic addition to our team and will no doubt help drive us forwards flying the flag for Welsh tech start-ups.”
Welsh economy secretary Ken Skates said: “We are pleased to support the expansion of Swansea-based Veeqo.
“This innovative creative digital company is at the forefront of the eCommerce revolution, and we are proud to see its continuous growth worldwide.
“The company is due to create over 180 high quality jobs in the Swansea region and I look forward to their ongoing success.”