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Torch Leadership Labs was on a fundraising break, but the startup's hyper-growth prompted VC Tina Hoang-To to lead a $25 million Series B round

Published by Business Insider on Thu, 25 Feb 2021


<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/6037f10abed5c50011a2c7b8-2400/Torch_Co-Founders_2.jpg" border="0" alt="Torch cofounders" data-mce-source="Torch" data-mce-caption="Torch cofounders Cameron Yarbrough and Keegan Walden"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>When the pandemic hit last March, Torch Leadership Labs CEO Cameron Yarbrough took Sequoia's "Black Swan" memo very seriously. That memo, written in the early days of the pandemic, warned startups to cut their cash burn in anticipation of hard days ahead.</p><p>Yarbrough's startup, a leadership development platform that offers integrated coaching, software, and feedback to managers, made plans to ensure the business could run for at least two more years on its existing fundraising haul.</p><p>Then, Obvious Ventures' Tina Hoang-To, who leads the firm's growth practice, came knocking.&nbsp;</p><p>Hoang-To had Torch on her radar for a while. At first, she wanted to wait before investing, given that the company had just merged with Everwise in early 2020 and finished its $10 million Series A round just a few months before that.&nbsp;</p><p>But she kept hearing about the startup's momentum from other investors, and ultimately felt compelled to pre-empt Torch's Series B round and nab a stake in the company for Obvious Ventures. (In a pre-emptive round, investors offer to put cash in a company even when founders are not formally fundraising.)</p><p>And so Hoang-To called Yarbrough in October, and just a few weeks later, convinced him to let Obvious Ventures lead Torch's $25 million Series B fundraising, which was announced Thursday.&nbsp;</p><p>"The reason why I took that call is because I've been paying attention to Obvious Ventures for a long time. I've been deeply admiring the firm for their big mission and world-positive message." Yarbrough told Insider. Obvious Ventures is known for backing purpose-driven companies, including Beyond Meat, Diamond Foundry, Gusto, and Good Eggs.&nbsp;</p><p>Torch declined to comment on its new valuation, though it's likely a significant step up from the $43.54 million post-money valuation from its last fundraising round in 2019, according to Pitchbooka valuation that Yarbrough said is "inaccurate by a large margin."</p><p>The company, cofounded by Yarbrough and COO Keegan Walden, helps managers integrate various employee training and mentorship programs into a single platform, allowing those managers to more easily track employee performance.&nbsp;</p><p>Since the end of 2019, it's seen a sixfold growth in new enterprise customers. Those customers, which include LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitch, Okta, and T-Mobile, now spend around $1 million per year on Torch's products, compared to an average of $40,000 before the Everwise merger, Yarbrough said.</p><p>The startup now plans on using the new capital to build out its research and development and marketing efforts, he added.&nbsp;</p><p>The ultimate goal, as Hoang-To sees it, is to build the first enterprise product that delivers a "lifelong learning journey," similar to how Salesforce turned customer relationship management into the definitive software for sales operations.&nbsp;</p><p>"As I think about the next wave of billion-dollar companies, I think learning and development is a big category," Hoang-To told Insider. "I can feel that is what Cameron and Keegan live and breathe."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-candice-beaumont-became-a-venture-industry-power-broker-2021-2" >Meet Candice Beaumont, a venture industry power broker whose career took off when she joined one world's most exclusive social networks</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/obvious-ventures-decided-to-led-startup-torchs-series-b-round-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ocean-floor-much-deeper-humans-understand-animation-2017-3">This incredible animation shows how deep the ocean really is</a></p>
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