Nuqleous® Secures $26M Strategic Growth Investment from Blue Ladder Capital, Accelerating Growth and Product Innovation
Investment solidifies Nuqleous’ position as the leading provider of automated retail space-planning and performance analytics software
BENTONVILLE, Ark., July 25, 2023 -- Nuqleous®, the leading provider of automated retail space-planning and performance analytics software, has secured a significant $26M strategic growth investment from Blue Ladder Capital, an investment and operating firm specializing in partnering with verticalized market-leading B2B software companies.
Nuqleous’ software products enable customers to improve margins, reduce inefficiencies and turnover, and increase sales for over 700 categories across 3,700 brands representing $40.9 billion in annualized sales.
Since 2013, Nuqleous has empowered top CPG brands, distributors, and retailers to enhance merchandising and data analytics. Category advisors depend on Nuqleous’ Shelf IQ® product to manage store-specific merchandising strategies for over 250,000 SKUs that not only drive billions in revenue, but also save teams thousands of hours per year.
In addition, the company’s Spotlight product serves as the single source-of-truth for retailer and syndicated third-party data sources. Spotlight empowers CPG brand and distributor teams with valuable insights to drive revenue, minimize errors, and strengthen end-customer relationships.
Nuqleous serves over 75 blue-chip companies (Kraft-Heinz, PepsiCo, Kellogg's, Anheuser-Busch, Unilever) servicing the largest retailers, c-stores, and grocers (Walmart, Target, 7-Eleven, CVS, Kroger). The company has achieved significant growth, earning consecutive placements on the Inc. 5000 Annual List of America's Fastest-Growing Companies in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, the company was honored with the prestigious Inc. Best Workplaces recognition, highlighting its commitment to employee well-being, and fostering a supportive work environment.
"We raised capital to accelerate product innovation and double-down on our customer-led growth strategy," stated Paul Sims, Co-Founder and CEO of Nuqleous. “We are dedicated to enhancing our customers’ lives through automation and empowering data-driven decision making, so we’ve partnered with Blue Ladder Capital for their expertise in scaling mission-critical software businesses.”
Garrett Levey, former Head of Sales at Titan Cloud Software (acquired by Charlesbank Capital Partners) and growth equity investor at M33 Growth, joins forces with Bill Kloza, also previously from M33 Growth and formerly an investor at JMI Equity, an $8 billion software-focused growth equity fund. Together, they have joined as Co-Presidents, bolstering Nuqleous' growth trajectory. As part of the transaction, Paul Springmann, Co-Founder and President, will transition into an advisory role.
“We partnered with Nuqleous due to their strong product/market fit and exceptional net promoter score – customers love the products,” said Levey. “We take a long-term view on partnering with companies and are excited to continue to build an enduring business. Nuqleous' product portfolio is highly differentiated and delivers a significant return on investment to customers; we look forward to expanding our commitments to existing customers while expanding both nationally and internationally.”
About Nuqleous
Established in 2013, Nuqleous is the leading provider of automated retail space-planning and performance analytics software that boosts agility and efficiency for retailers, CPG brands, and distributors. Nuqleous’ software products enable customers to improve margins, reduce inefficiencies and turnover, and increase sales for over 700 categories across 3,700 brands representing $40.9 billion in annualized sales. Learn more at https://www.nuqleous.com.
About Blue Ladder Capital
Blue Ladder Capital is an investment and operating firm founded by Garrett Levey and Bill Kloza that specializes in partnering with verticalized market-leading B2B software companies. Blue Ladder is backed by a network of over 40 B2B software executives, all of whom are limited partners or investors in the fund, as well as several leading institutional investment firms including Trilogy Search Partners.
