Hamburg-based cofenster closes €8m Series A financing for expansion and product development

Hamburg-based cofenster closes €8m Series A financing for expansion and product development

Published: 14-02-2022 11:03:00 | By: Pie Kamau | hits: 4083 | Tags:

Software company cofenster raised €8 million in a Series A funding round led by signals Venture Capital with existing investor, Capnamic, reinvesting. In addition, a number of well-known entrepreneurs are participating as angel investors.

cofenster, a software company founded in 2020 by Tom Vollmer, Oliver Wegner and Finn Frotscher, helps large and medium-sized companies to find new ways of communicating in times of home office and hybrid work to strengthen employee engagement and promote long-term employee loyalty.

Tom Vollmer, CEO & Co-founder, cofenster: "We are thrilled that we were able to convince such an experienced group of investors. We will use the investment to further expand our pioneering role as the leading video solution in Europe."

cofenster offers a holistic video solution. Everyone, managers, team leaders and employees, can easily and quickly create video messages to add greater empathy and authenticity to their internal communication measures. The planning, creation and sharing of videos strengthens employee engagement, creates a positive connection to their daily work and reinforces teamwork and corporate culture.

While videos have become indispensable in marketing, many companies still have concerns about using this format for communication in other departments. In addition, video is often associated with high production costs and production efforts and, last but not least, with specialist knowledge, which many medium-sized companies lack.

Oliver Wegner, Co-founder and CPO, cofenster: "If you go with cofenster, you don’t need any previous experience in video editing. With cofenster, anyone from a 16-year-old intern to a 65-year-old CEO can create a professional video in no time because we have simplified and automated all the key tasks in video management: from recording, to editing, to automatically adding CI-compliant text modules, royalty-free music and subtitles. What's more, our software is easy to use: with us, even teams that work decentrally can create a video together."

Christian Weniger, Managing Partner, signals Venture Capital: "Communication via video is pushing into the corporate world. On the one hand, this is due to the new normal of hybrid working. But on the other hand, it is also due to the entry of Gen Z into professional life, who primarily communicates via video. We are convinced that cofenster offers the best tool for this global trend and are very pleased to be working with the founders." 

Since the pandemic, long-term employee retention and internal engagement have become increasingly important. Corporate communication, however, often goes little beyond the textbased messaging. Yet it has been repeatedly shown that companies whose employees are engaged have better results, higher productivity rates, lower turnover rates, and fewer safety violations. According to studies, poor employee engagement is a cause of unproductivity and costs USD 8.1 trillion annually – and a good reason to quit: 68% of all 16-24-year-olds, for example, are willing to quit if there is poor company communication, according to a Gallup survey.

Christian Knott, Managing Partner, Capnamic: "Today more than ever, companies need to address how to attract and retain employees through simple, authentic information flow, good communication and a high level of transparency. In this way, cofenster promotes an effective dialogue within companies."

Only a few months after its foundation, cofenster was able to inspire the first large companies with its video solution, including global players such as Allianz, Microsoft and Accenture. Simone Teufel, Head of Corporate Communications at Accenture, regularly uses cofenster in her department for various measures and projects. "With cofenster , we are able to authentically reach our employees and thus take our internal communication to a whole new level. The software is crucial for achieving our communication goals," said Simone.

www.cofenster.com