20 Things You Didn’t Know About Gatheround
Gatheround is a computer software startup that helps people to connect, learn, and bond. It’s a fairly new company that has the potential to change the way that people connect in an online environment. The technology is timely as the recent pandemic has made it impossible for many people to physically meet one another due to stay-at-home orders that have prevented people from gathering together during the past two years. This is a platform that helps people find unique new ways to connect with business associates that might surprise you. It’s just what the doctor ordered. If you haven’t yet heard about it, here are 20 things you didn’t know about Gatheround that you probably didn’t know.
1. Gatheround specializes in communications software
According to Crunchbase, Gatheround’s main product is a community engagement platform that is software-based, allowing organizations that are people-focused to build relationships and strengthen teams. The focus of the platform is to cater to the needs of businesses seeking to connect remote workers and other organizations that are looking for ways to bring people together in an online environment in ways that are deeply meaningful as well as enjoyable and even fun.
2. Gatheround is a startup in its infant stage
Gatheround is a company that was founded in November of 2018. It’s only been in existence for just over two years as of May of 2021. The business was founded under the legal name Elephant Technologies, producing the Gatheround software solution.
3. Gatheround has three founders
The three co-founders of Gatheround are Alexander McCormmach, Lisa Conn, and Perry Rosenstein. This is the first startup that McCormmach and Conn have been involved in establishing, but Perry Rosenstein brings previous experience to the table. In addition to co-founding Gatheround, the entrepreneur from Reno, Nevada is also the co-founder of Hustle, a San Francisco-based peer-to-peer text messaging platform that allows for scalable personal conversation enabling.
4. Gatheround has a small executive team
There are just two members of the executive team that is leading the Gatheround platform forward. Lisa Conn is a co-founder who also serves as the chief operating officer of the company. She is joined by Perry Rosenstein a co-founder who serves as the chief executive officer of the company. Although just two members are leading the company into its infant stages, they are effective in business. So far, Gatheround has not yet established a board of directors and advisors. This is likely because it is so early in the development that there has not yet been time.
5. Gatheround is an early-stage venture-capital-backed company
Gatheround has secured funding in 2 rounds, totaling $4 million. The most recent Seed round closed on June 27, 2020, in a seed round that raised $3.5 million led by Bloomberg Beta and Homebrew, joined by 9 other investors. The first round was a pre-seed round led by Designer Fund with 3 other investors joining to raise $495,000, in December of 2018. Gatheround is backed by a total of 11 investors with confidence that it will take off and become profitable in the future.
6. Gathround has a workforce of 12 employees
According to LinkedIn, Gatheround is still a very small company. It has just 12 people in its workforce, but it looks like this is about to change. We looked at the company’s current job openings and learned that there are 4 new openings. Two of the positions are being offered in the Chicago, Ilinois area for an Icebreaker Manager in Training and a part-time sales associate. The other two job openings are for workers in San Francisco, California. One is for a full-time sales associate and key holder and the second is for a part-time sales associate and key-holder.
7. Gatheround is a privately held company
You’re not likely to see Gatheround listed on any of the stock exchanges any time soon. It is still early in its development and is still a privately owned company. So far, there has been no discussion about the possibility of going public, and this is unlikely to be an option for the near foreseeable future. It’s backed by private investors so far and has not yet advanced past the stage of seed funding to raise capital for its initial launch and operational expenses, but we do see some of the funding going toward the expansion of its workforce in California and Illinois.
8. Gatheround is a relaunch of another business
According to SaaS Industry, Gatheround is a relaunch of an established company. The previous name of the startup was Icebreaker. Icebreaker owners found it necessary to rebrand the company with a name that offered a better fit and description of the true intention of the platform.
9. Gatheround is a unique online communications platform
The founders of Gatheround intend to provide people and businesses with a different kind of communications platform that would stand out from the rest of them. While it offers similar functions to Zoom, the intention is to present more of a feeling of belonging and togetherness in groups that must now rely on remote connections for their jobs. This has come to the fore since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic when business associates and colleagues who once met in person for essential meetings were redirected to remote meetings only. The cofounders identified a problem with the online environment as it tends to be more impersonal and less inviting for many. The goal is to personalize the connections to give them greater meaningfulness.
10. Gatheround aims to help ease the transition to the new normal
We’ve all heard public service announcements over the television, internet, and radio that talk about the “new normal” since the onset of the pandemic. People are discouraged from attending larger or even moderate-sized physical gatherings, which has curtailed social interactions. For many, this has created a deep sense of isolation and loneliness, leading to a mental health crisis in the nation, and the world at large. One of the aims of Gatheround is to help ease the transition through the facilitation of video conferencing that imparts a cultural angle as n emphasis that helps people to feel more connected.
11. Gatheround’s video chats have added value
You may be wondering what is so different about Gatheround. For starters, video chats go beyond mere communication. Users have the option of using templates that help to facilitate cultural rituals as well as activities for learning and development. In addition to a broad range of videos, chats, and one-to-one, or group conversations, there are also workshops available.
12. Gatheround helps organizations to ease the mental health crisis
The businesses that subscribe to Gatheround’s platform can become a part of the solution to the mental health crisis. They are granted access to special features that can be used to help teams to bond together more easily. this includes access to a YouTube video player, group share, and group matching features that provide greater flexibility to customize online events. Loneliness is a national problem and the co-founders of Gatheround believe that we all share a social responsibility to do what we can to help one another during what has become a very challenging and difficult time. Gatheround offers a platform that is useful for that purpose.
13. Gatheround is launched and fully-functional
Although Gatheround is still in its early developmental stages, the software platform has already launched and it’s in full use. The company has been advancing in its popularity and gaining ground with new users added regularly. Since receiving the seed funding, it’s planning to take action to begin building momentum to push forward with new growth. The current user base is estimated at around 260,000 users for the platform. Proceeds from the seed funding will be used for adding greater functionality to the Gatheround platform. Until now the company has been riding on organic growth.
14. Gatheround is for companies of all sizes
The co-founders of Gatheround emphasize that this platform is made for businesses and organizations of all sizes, both big and small. Everyone has had to react in a variety of different ways to the new requirements for meetings and socialization. It’s impacted both business and personal communications. The previous platforms have not created a means of building social and cultural connections, but rather, have stuck to a more impersonal business format such as Zoom.
15. Gatheround is aimed at remote workers
Remote workers are becoming the rule rather than the exception these days. This is a trend that may not revert any time soon. As people become accustomed to the new ways of conducting business communications and transactions, companies are building their infrastructures around the new normal. Gatheround is a tool for helping companies to provide their remote workforce with more meaningful communication tools that can be customized to promote the culture of the company as well.
16. It’s intended to help break the ice
The reason that the company was first named Icebreaker is that it was intended to help people in the business world break the ice with one another to get past the initial discomfort of first meetings via a video format. This element of the function is still very much a part of its intention, but it goes beyond the initial icebreaking phase to create a more intense and meaningful event. Now that there is such a huge demand for remote platforms, Gatheround is needed as an additional resource for businesses who are tired of glitches and bogged down servers from other providers.
17. The first version was a speed dating platform
Interestingly, the first version of Gatheround’s platform was designed to help people who were total strangers to meet online and connect. It served as a virtual speed dating application, which was useful, but the platform has evolved. The co-founders realized that it was also useful for the business world as well as for social organizations. Its capacity to help people connect can be used in all aspects of social connections. We communicate with one another on so many different levels that there had to be something that allows people to satisfy their needs for real and meaningful contact with others. Even if it’s in an online environment.
18. Gatheround serves some of the biggest businesses in the world
Gatheround has been steadily building its user base since its inception in 2018. We were impressed to learn that the customer base for Gatheround now includes a total of 28 Fortune 500 companies, along with 700 educational institutions, 26 of the top-ranked 30 universities, and 11 out of the 15 largest tech companies in the United States. These include Digital Ocean, Westfield, Fiverr, Asana, Coinbase, and many others.
19. Gatheround has grown by word of mouth
If you’re hearing about Gatheround for the first time, you shouldn’t feel bad. It’s one of those new startups that has relied on word of mouth for its principal form of advertisement. The financial resources owned by the company were used to build the platform and cover operational expenses. Now that it has secured apple funding, marketing will be approached more aggressively.
20. Gatheround is a company to keep your eye on
Although it’s early in development, Gatheround is a platform that has all the earmarks of becoming a successful venture. Amazingly, a two-person leadership team along with a staff of 12 workers has grown the company to its current state of success so quickly. Gatheround is off to a remarkable start and it will likely continue to grow and prosper. Gatheround has something to offer that the world needs today. Both on a business and a human level, we need to have a way to connect on a deeper level that helps us to transition through the new restrictions on social contact and gathering. It’s the company with a social conscience that offers a communications platform like no other. We fully expect to see Gatheround flower and expand in the next few years.
