SMB Management Software Firm HoneyBook Raises $155M At Over $1B Valuation

Israeli-founded business management firm HoneyBook announced on Tuesday that raised $155 million in a Series D equity round led by Durable Capital Partners LP with participation from Tiger Global Management, Battery Ventures, Zeev Ventures, 01 Advisors. Existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, OurCrowd and Citi Ventures also took part in the funding round, which now values the company at over $1 billion.

Founded in 2013 by Oz Alon, Naama Alon, and Dror Shimoni, HoneyBook is a client experience and financial management platform for independent service-based small- and medium-sized businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. Its platform streamlines billing, contracts, and client communication and helps business owners stay organized.

The company is based in SanFrancisco with offices in Tel Aviv.

Over the past year, HoneyBook says two trends — the growth of the independent workforce and the digitization of small businesses — have accelerated its growth and the company tripled annual recurring revenue (ARR) in just 12 months. In addition, subscribers more than doubled in the past year and existing members booked more than $1 billion in business on the platform in the past nine months alone, the company indicated.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, HoneyBook says it continued to expand its market as businesses whose work was unimpeded by the global crisis — web and graphic designers, business coaches and consultants — experienced a surge in demand and new HoneyBook subscribers in these industries grew more than four times in the past year. 

“Clients now expect streamlined communication, seamless payments and the same level of exceptional service online that they were used to receiving from business owners in person. We’re proud to have helped independent service-based businesses meet the demands of a rapidly changing, digital-first world,” said HoneyBook CEO Oz Alon in a company statement. “Amid a year of uncertainty, small business owners exemplified innovation and an unrelenting passion for their craft.” 

“We believe the accelerated trends of self-employed business growth and small business digitization will continue as the economic recovery builds,” said Henry Ellenbogen, managing partner and chief investment officer of Durable Capital Partners LP. “With its visionary leadership and proven ability to innovate and provide unique solutions for the service-based small business sector, we believe HoneyBook will drive employment, scale its business and define its industry in the years ahead.”

HoneyBook said it will use the funding to advance product development and expand internal resources, which includes dramatically increasing hiring.