Angel investment group Elevation Capital has taken a minority stake in Pollenizer-backed online human resource tool Wooboard, with plans to take the business global.
Elevation Capital, formed by Mark Greig and Trevor Folsom, typically invests in tech companies based in Australia. Its investment size ranges from $100,000 to $3 million.
While it’s unknown how much Elevation Capital has invested in Wooboard, Mick Liubinskas, co-founder of tech seed fund Pollenizer, described it as an “angel level investment”.
Wooboard is a collaborative online human resource tool designed to boost workplace morale and improve productivity. Pollenizer developed the idea about six months ago.
“We thought, how can we increase competition between workmates? You only get [workplace] recognition once or twice a month,” Liubinskas says.
“Why can’t we build on that and boost productivity at the same time? We launched it and people really liked it.”
“We believe we can change the way people behave in the workplace. It’s a pretty lofty goal – create a really simple system that multiplies the value of workplace recognition.”
According to Liubinskas, there are already 30 companies using Wooboard, with another 150 indicating their interest in the tool.
“It’s designed for teams that are using computers, so office workplaces. They’re typically younger teams who consider culture to be important in their working life,” he says.
“Wooboard is a greater enforcer of that strong culture – it can really add significantly to the core of a team.”
Liubinskas says Wooboard becomes one of the tabs that you have open on your computer screen. When someone does a good job, you can nominate that person to be “Wooed”.
The more you are nominated on the platform, the more likely you are to receive points and advance to higher levels, incorporating a gaming element. Meanwhile, your workmates are much more aware of your hard work.
“Elevation Capital is very excited by the idea of boosting recognition and morale in teams… They describe themselves as culture capitalists,” Liubinskas says.
Folsom will join the Wooboard team as chairman and interim CEO while Pollenizer looks for a full-time CEO.
“We’re looking for someone who will bust down doors and be excited about this idea. In the meantime, Pollenizer and Trevor are driving it forward,” Liubinskas says.
The goal of the company is to have 10,000 businesses using the tool on a daily basis by June next year.
