Supply chain management software startup Slync was once worth $240 million, but it hasn’t been easy lately.
Slync founder Christopher Kirchner has received $20 million from the company to fund a luxury lifestyle that includes a $16 million private Gulfstream jet, a professional golf tournament and $495,000 in luxuries. Allegations of misappropriation were indicted earlier this month by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A suite at a local sports stadium and an unsuccessful bid for an English football club. He said his $20 million, which represents 40% of his $50 million in Slync raised from angels and ventures, was a “distribution from my company,” and Slync’s board of directors The distribution was not approved by Private, he told the banker.
Meanwhile, some of Slync’s staff went unpaid for months. The company was also behind vendors and payments to his then-Slync-sponsored NHL Dallas Stars. During this time, the startup lost its Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, and Chief Financial Officer.
Not surprisingly, Slync has made a concerted effort to distance itself from Kirchner. Slync raised about $24 million (combined equity and debt) in January, according to SEC filings. We reached out to the company for more information, and Chief Marketing Officer Greg Keffer agreed to interview him via email.
Kefer immediately declined to answer questions about Kirchner, but aside from his suspension as CEO of Slync in 2022, Kefer referred me to the following statement:
We are aware of FBI activity related to an ongoing federal investigation into the personal activities of former Slync CEO Christopher S. Kirchner. resolution of this matter. This research is not the company’s primary focus. Moving forward with our new CEO, John Urban, we are focused on delivering next-generation technology to the global logistics industry.
Despite recent turmoil, Kefer reveals Goldman Sachs leads Slync’s latest round (with participation from Blumberg Capital, ACME Ventures and Gainels) and “remains committed to Slync’s value proposition” Did. He also declined to reveal the size of Slync’s customer base, but said the company plans to expand its team “significantly” over the next year and that annual recurring revenue is “growing rapidly.” .
Kefer claims the new funding will be used primarily to “expand the reach” of Slync’s technology. To date, Slync has raised more than $100 million in venture debt and equity, excluding loans received as part of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
“Obviously, the fact that we raised $24 million will help us get through a lot in the coming months,” said Kefer. “But this injection also shows that our investment partner sees potential in his Slync technology.”
So what is Slync’s technology?
At a high level, Slync connects various delivery and logistics systems, ingests and processes data, and (ideally) automates various repetitive processes. Utilizing a variety of data sources such as enterprise resource management systems, customer relationship management systems, transportation management systems, visibility service providers, emails, PDFs and spreadsheets, Slync highlights key information for users and provides collaboration tools and try to provide “role-based” services. A workflow for communicating and sharing that information.
“Slync provides a technology platform that will enable large global shippers to finally do away with the manual processes that continue to plague the logistics industry. That’s part of the problem, because it creates disconnected silos of data and operational tools,” says Kefer.
But many startups are doing the same. According to one estimate, the supply chain management software market will be valued at $15.8 billion in 2022.
Supply chain visualization tools Tive and Altana recently raised $54 million and $100 million, respectively. His HICX, a supplier experience management platform, will soon win $30 million, and FourKites, which helps manage global freight shipments as part of a previously announced strategic partnership with FedEx, recently closed a $30 million tranche. I got the
Kefer claims that Slync could stand out in a crowded field, but I’m skeptical. Aside from the fact that hiring can be difficult, Slync’s latest funding tranche is a fraction of the size of all previous equity tranches, given the company’s historic salary problems. It suggests that Kirchner is casting long shadows. The logistics company was a VC darling from 2021 to he’s mid-2022, but funding has slowed significantly since then.
For what it’s worth (and Kefer’s earlier points), Goldman Sachs hasn’t taken a step. There partner Darren Cohen, when contacted for comment, said:
“During the COVID pandemic, laden container ships moored offshore and empty store shelves showed everyone what happens when international supply chains collapse. We believe that we will provide an innovative solution to fully digitalize the logistics industry.The value of this technology is significant in our opinion.”
