RJMetrics just raised $16.5M

RJMetrics has raised a $16.5 million Series B, in a round led by West Coast investors August Capital. It’s one of the biggest rounds raised by a Philadelphia IT startup in recent memory.*

The Center City company, which provides analytics for online businesses, plans to use the funds for product development — hiring more engineers, plus customer acquisition, including “capital intensive” efforts like media buys, trade shows and targeted ads, said CEO Robert Moore.

As Moore puts it, RJMetrics has confirmed that “this is a big opportunity” and now the company is focused on determining “how far we can take this” and “what we need to capture on the entirety of the opportunity.”

Previous investors Trinity Ventures and SoftTechVC also participated in the round.

The company has nearly quadrupled in size since its last raise of $6.2 million: it’s gone from 26 employees to nearly 80. It’s hiring for a dozen roles, across all departments, including a lead recruiter. Since that last raise, RJMetrics has grown its sales team from one to 17, Moore said.

RJMetrics got its start doing analytics for ecommerce businesses but has since expanded to online businesses of all kinds, including software-as-a-service businesses and mobile app businesses.

What’s the difference between raising a Series B and a seed round?

Moore said it’s no longer just about “pitching the vision.”

“It’s much more proving out that you can build an enormous business,” he said.

Series B investors aren’t looking for a company that will sell for $50 million — “They’re looking for bigger exits,” he said.

So, while it was easier to pitch investors because RJMetrics has more than 300 customers who can talk about the value of the product, Moore said it was also tough because he was forced to think about bigger questions, like the market opportunity and the quality of his team.

Moore said he’s also excited about what this raise means for the company’s ability to help the Philly tech scene.

“All this money is going to create jobs here,” he said.

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*(In case you’re curious, the biggest raises from local IT firms we could find were Wilmington, Del.-based SevOne’s $150 million raise last year and Exton-based iPipeline’s $71.4 million raise in 2012. South Jersey’s Billtrust raised $25 million in 2012. Monetate raised $15 million in both 2011 and 2013.)