Former Woolies boss backs $2m Seed round for workplace messaging startup

Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci, who departed the grocery retailer in February with a $24 million golden handshake, not long after vacating the chair during a notorious Four Corners interview about grocery prices, has put some of that windfall to use backing a $2 million Seed round for a startup taking on Salesforce’s Slack and Meta’s Whatsapp when it comes to workplace messaging for deskless workers.

Serial entrepreneur Iain McDonald cofounder 8seats in 2021. The raise was backed by VC Black Nova, and several early-stage investors, including Banducci, TBWA president Paul Bradbury, former Prezzee CEO Tony Karp, Innovation Bay’s Ian Gardiner, Faethm founder Mike Priddis and Greg Miller.

The funding will be used to scale the platform amid plans for a public launch in 2025 and the going global in the US, UK and Europe. The company has been through the AWS and Google startup programs.

McDonald, the CEO, has been running 8seats in a closed beta that’s processed more than 300,000 messages, saying it bridges the gap between office-based and deskless employees, combining the best aspects of workplace communication tools with the ease and familiarity of consumer messaging apps.

“In a world dominated by legacy platforms, we’re here to give businesses a smarter, simpler way to connect and collaborate across every employee, from the shop floor to the boardroom,” he said

“This mission is ambitious, and we’re thrilled to have such experienced investors backing us. Their support will help us challenge the status quo and deliver a product that better meets the needs of businesses and their employees.”

McDonald says employers can also avoid a number of growing risks associated with personal messaging apps being used for work, including data and security breaches.

Black Nova managing partner Matt Browne said he said enormous global potential.

“8seats has reimagined group messaging with an extremely credible solution that makes it easier for businesses to communicate. We’re excited to be early partners on this journey,” he said.