Main Highlights:
- Philly’s Stimulus attempts to alleviate the burden for buying firms.
- The SaaS platform maker just obtained a fundraising round to expand its own capabilities.
- Supply chain and logistics are fast expanding markets, with a nearly $10 trillion business now accounting for more than 10% of global GDP.
- Tiffanie Stanard worked there for 14 years before departing to focus on Stimulus.
Anyone who has purchased goods in the last several years is aware of how unpredictable the supply chain space has been.
Philly’s Stimulus attempts to alleviate the burden for buying firms. The SaaS platform maker just obtained a fundraising round to expand its own capabilities.
Stimulus Inc., a Philadelphia-based relationship intelligence (SaaS) startup in the supply chain space, raised a $2.5 million seed funding round led by Black Ops VC, with additional notable investors including Genius Guild, Morgan Stanley, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, REFASHIOND Ventures, Bronze Valley, The BFM Fund, Plain Sight Capital, Penn Medicine – Wharton Fund for Health, and a slew of angel investors.
The funds will be used to further build the Stimulus Relationship Intelligence Platform and hire for three teams, according to creator Tiffanie Stanard.
This cash will be used to grow the Stimulus Platform, recruit engineers, data scientists, and salespeople, and create partnerships with firms who share the goal of increasing relationships with suppliers and diversifying supply chains.
It comes on the heels of an early 2021 investment from Gabriel Investments, Campus Apartments’ David Adelman, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners Board Member Osagie Imasogie, among others.
“We met the investors in our seed round through our founder network and a reference from our current investors,” Stanard said of the newest round. “We have a fantastic team that understands the procurement and supply chain industry.”
The entrepreneur anticipates hiring for Stimulus’ technical, data, and sales teams, adding two to four individuals in total.
This year has delivered significant victories for the University City-based SaaS startup, which was launched in 2017. Alec Senese joined the company as the director of sales and business development after being approved into Morgan Stanley’s Multicultural Innovation Lab last summer. Stanard also just completed the second batch of Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual and gener8tor’s Black Founder Accelerator, which included a $100,000 funding injection.
The initiative, according to Stanard, “has a concierge approach.” “Their team is very hands-on when it comes to assisting with particular goals like hiring, customer introductions, and media possibilities.”
The seed financing will go toward expansion in growing collaborations with firms wishing to create stronger ties with their suppliers and diversify their supply chain, along with some new hiring, Stanard added. Stimulus’ platform combines data insights, relationship-building tools, and a “unique score” to assist businesses in making sourcing and purchasing decisions. Along with reducing money and optimising the supply chain, Stimulus wants its clients to meet location-based DEI requirements in their suppliers and assist them identify available contractors.
“Tiffanie’s subject matter expertise after spending years around the problem was really clear from the start,” said James Norman, general partner at Black Ops VC, in a statement. “Stimulus is an elegant solution that has a user experience designed specifically for the workflow of enterprise procurement teams. The hole in the market was clear to our team, so we were more than excited to get behind the platform and Tiffanie.”
“Tiffanie’s subject matter expertise after spending years around the problem was really clear from the start. Stimulus is an elegant solution that has a user experience designed specifically for the workflow of enterprise procurement teams. The hole in the market was clear to our team, so we were more than excited to get behind the platform and Tiffanie”, James Norman, General Partner, Black Ops VC.
“Norwegian Mutual named Black Ops VC as one of our $100 million impact fund beneficiaries last year.” We are excited to join Black Ops Ventures in investing in Stimulus through the Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator. We will continue to connect Black founders to more financing possibilities as we strengthen an ecosystem that tries to overcome the racial equality gap,” said Moiz Dawoodbhai, Assistant Director of Strategic Investing at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures.
Supply chain and logistics are fast expanding markets, with a nearly $10 trillion business now accounting for more than 10% of global GDP. We’ve seen significant shocks to global supply networks over the last two years, and the latest Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains has made supply chain resilience a top priority for all companies.
About SaaS:
Stimulus is a relationship intelligence (SaaS) platform founded by Tiffanie Stanard that uses data insights, relationship-building tools, and a proprietary score to help companies make the best sourcing, procurement, and purchasing decisions while optimising, nurturing, and growing their supplier ecosystems. The platform gives visibility for teams to examine supplier data and discover actionable insights, assisting businesses in developing honest, transparent partnerships that lead to improved business outcomes. Stimulus’ makes it easier for businesses to identify the proper suppliers, meet business objectives such as location-based and DEI criteria, and swiftly connect them to available contract opportunities by readily comparing suppliers using relevant metrics and data points.
The Stimulus Score examines suppliers to give an objective assessment of performance, providing buyers with a 360-degree view to better connect with existing or potential partners. Stimulus’ objective is to assist businesses in developing more value vendor and supplier relationships.
Supply chain and logistics are fast expanding markets, with a nearly $10 trillion business now accounting for more than 10% of global GDP. Massive shocks to global supply networks have occurred in the previous two years, and the recent Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains has made supply chain resilience a primary issue for all organisations.
Because procurement is the single largest expense driver for any firm, corporations spend more on suppliers than on any other balance sheet item.
The majority of B2B sales are done in person and are based on relationships. According to Gartner, by 2025, 80% of B2B Sales transactions between suppliers and customers would take place through digital platforms. This is critical since the purchasing cycle has grown greatly in length and now involves several stakeholders.
This is when Stimulus enters the picture. Stimulus’ Relationship Intelligence Platform (SRIP) distinguishes itself in the industry by combining data insights, relationship-building tools, and a proprietary score to assist businesses in making the best sourcing, procurement, and purchasing decisions while optimising and growing their supplier ecosystems.
The platform gives visibility for sourcing and procurement teams to examine supplier data and discover actionable insights, assisting businesses in developing honest, transparent partnerships that lead to improved business outcomes.
The purpose is to achieve business objectives such as location-based and DEI criteria by readily evaluating providers using appropriate metrics and data points and promptly matching them to accessible contract opportunities.
“We are delighted that the Genius Guild Greenhouse Fund has made an investment in Stimulus.” The conditions are perfect for a solution to the complicated management of vendor and supplier relationships at a time when the emphasis on corporate social responsibility is at an all-time high and supply-chain difficulties are a regular presence in our news headlines.” Genius Guild Greenhouse Fund Managing Partner Kathryn Finney
Tiffanie Stanard:
Tiffanie Stanard, the founder and CEO of Stimulus, is an award-winning entrepreneur and former vendor management executive with over 15 years of experience working with vendors and suppliers for some of the top publicly traded corporations in the United States. She has a Bachelor of Science in business administration. Stanard has been recognised One of the 15 Women Changing the Face of Technology, as well as one of the Top 20 Female Cloud Leaders in 2021, among many other awards.
She worked as a payroll and vendor manager for six years before launching her own company, Prestige Concepts, which advised major corporations such as Comcast, Microsoft, and McDonald’s on developing supplier relationships and expanding their businesses.
She worked there for 14 years before departing to focus on Stimulus.
“What have I learned? Have more encouragement in yourself,” she said, adding that the entrepreneurial path is long and often arduous. “Your self-belief will get you through the long journey it takes to get there.”
