Nothing makes us happier than seeing our alumni succeed, so naturally we are absolutely delighted that two of our portfolio companies have closed significant funding rounds that take them one step closer to achieving their visions.
First off, Time by Ping announced their $36.5m Series B funding round led by ACME Capital and Anthos Capital taking their total fundraising to date to over $55m. Our journey with TBP started in 2017 by helping Ryan and the team think through how they could reimagine the way Lawyers recorded time. After completed the Lab, Mishcon went on to invest in the business and were also the first major Law firm to roll out the product.
“Our time in MDR Lab helped shape our product and better understand how Time by Ping can help firms adapt to shifts that are occurring in the industry.”
Kourosh Zamanizadeh, Co-Founder, Ping
Fast forward to today, Time by Ping has established a powerful base in the USA and are now working and partnering with some of the best firms across the Am Law 100. We have seen the team go from 4 to 50 with the new capital being used to further grow the team across engineering, sales, and customer success and to accelerate adoption of time automation in legal and other industries in response to the surge in demand.
Yesterday, Thirdfort announced their £15m Series A round here, led by Breega and and Element Ventures. Co-founders Jack and Olly joined MDR Lab in 2018 to solve the problem of fraud in property transactions after a friend of theirs had been defrauded £25,000 when buying a house. The time they spent with lawyers in the Real Estate and Risk and Compliance during the Lab helped them convert an idea into a working product.
ThirdFort have gone on to do remarkable things post the Lab, and their success was partly accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as the need for digital verification and on boarding increased. Thirdfort’s app (which has now been downloaded over 500,000 times) helps professional services firm run more thorough due diligence when onboarding clients, and to flag when something is suspicious.
“The last two years have been a whirlwind. In January of 2020, we were a team of 10 with 30 business clients and one industry partner. Fast forward to today, and we are 100 Thirdforters with 700 business clients and 15 leading partners who have integrated Thirdfort.”
Olly Thornton-Berry, Managing Director & Co-Founder
MDR Lab has now worked with over 25 companies. We have taken licences in 9 of the companies and made 4 investments and continue to provide support to the companies in our growing community. Based on recent data, our alumni have gone on to raise over £90m GBP.
“Our thesis is simple. If we can help companies figure out what and how to build their products, we can increase their chance of their success. We are delighted to see both companies hit these milestones and feel privileged to have been able to play a part in their journeys. We can’t wait to see what is next!”
Dan Sinclair, Head of MDR Lab
With 5 years’ experience running MDR Lab, here are our top tips to companies considering joining an innovation programme:
- Be clear on the “why.” Set clear objectives of what you want to achieve.
- Spend time up-front validating that your goals are achievable, either with the programme team or by talking to alumni companies.
- Check that our programme offerings align with your business needs and stage.
- Go hard or go home – companies that commit to the programme are far more likely to benefit!
If you want to find out more about TimeByPing, Thirdfort or MDR Lab, contact us here!
