Swept has raised a $2.5 million seed round led by iNovia Capital with Afore Capital.
Swept initially launched as Clean Simple in November 2015, and later raised $600,000 from HIGHLINE VC, BDC capital, Innovacorp, and EastValley Ventures. Targeted to the janitorial industry, the platform streamlines communication between companies and their cleaners, and includes time-tracking, scheduling, and client problem reporting.
The company — which switched its name to demonstrate its transition from a cleaning company to a SaaS product — plans to use the funding for product development and hiring.
“The pain we’re solving in the janitorial industry isn’t small — we’re talking 800,000 companies in North America alone experiencing annual employee turnover rates of up to 375 percent. We’re excited to have this funding to fuel continued growth and help us own this category,” said CEO Michael Brown, who initially built the software for his own cleaning company. “My co-founder and I initially built this software to solve challenges we were facing in our own cleaning business. We’ve come a long way from cleaning toilets at three a.m. when a cleaner didn’t show up and are committed to innovating in this industry. Very soon, if you think about starting or growing a cleaning company, you will instantly think of Swept.”
Since its launch, Swept has over 10,000 users in seven countries worldwide. The team also participated in batch 21 of 500 Startups.
“Transforming old industries with smart, scalable technologies is a passion for us. We believe in Swept because their founding team is stacked with janitorial industry operators; and because their technology is ultimately about improving quality through improving community,” said iNovia Principal David Nault. “Swept is helping employers and employees feel more connected. This is 100% in line with our vision as a fund.”