Want to stay up to date on the latest startup fundings, launches, and expansions in Austin? Startup Over Coffee’s weekly roundup of Austin startups to watch will keep you in the loop on the latest Austin tech news. Catch up on previous weekly roundups here. 

Overhaul Group Inc.

According to Austin Inno, Overhaul Group Inc., an Austin-based supply chain visibility software company, announced a $35 million Series B funding. With the projected growth and course the startup is heading in, CEO and co-founder Barry Conlon sees the company approaching unicorn “very quickly.”

Essentially, Overhaul’s goal is to protect supply chains. They provide information about cargo in transit and safely track your shipments to supply you with the most optimization. As the company grows rapidly, more job opportunities are opening up. Founded in 2016, Overhaul employs approximately 80 Austin-based employees. With the help of fundraising, Conlon plans on opening 20 new job positions at their Austin location. Now that the pandemic is slowly declining its effect on the economy and more offices are opening up, Colon is looking at providing more job opportunities worldwide. 

Pensa Systems

The Austin-based startup, Pensa Systems, has raised an $11 million Series A funding, according to Austin Inno. This funding round was led by ATX Venture Partners and Circle K Ventures. The startup produces in-store data services that help shelf management in stores to improve product stocking and reduce stockouts. 

As more stores are acknowledging the benefits of Pensa, the demand for this system in grocery, drug, and convenience stores is rising. The funding will assist Pensa in hiring more employees for their sales, marketing, and engineering teams at their Austin location. This will help open more doors as they hope to expand in outdoor and indoor locations. 

The Mentor Method

Out of the fewer than 100 startups led by Black women to reach $1 million in venture capital funding, The Mentor Method is helping create a change in the tech world. According to Austin Inno, investors such as Time Draper’s Draper Associates, Elsewhere Partners, Backstage Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, MATH Venture Partners, and Sorenson Impact Fund all contributed to the $1.4 million seed round. 

The Mentor Method is an enterprise SaaS that uses a proprietary algorithm to increase engagements and interactions amongst corporate mentors and mentees. The connection helps assist with leadership development in employees. Many people have sought out the help of The Mentor Method because of their unique algorithm, increasing the demand for the company. Founder and CEO Janice Omadeke plans on opening job opportunities in the following departments: business development, product, and market. With such a low number of Black women-owned startup companies that have raised $1 million, Omadeke is honored to be a part of the list and hopes she sets an example for future Black women founders.  

Brinqa

As reported by Built in Austin, cyberattacks are rising more and more every week, increasing the demand for cybersecurity. In response, Brinqa, an Austin-based startup, has raised a $110 million funding round in hopes of reducing cyber-attacks. This round of funding was led by Insight Partners. The funds received are geared towards growing funds internationally, across the U.S. and Europe, and eventually Japan and Australia. With predictions of major growth in the next 12 to 18 months, the company is working on hiring 11 new employees.  

About Michelle Vernaza: Michelle is a Business Development Associate Intern for Swyft, which is a tech PR firm in Austin and Houston and a top digital marketing and PR agency in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft recently opened a satellite office where it offers tech PR in San Francisco. Swyft was also listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.