Brazen Raises $4.7 Million to Continue Rapid Growth of Its Chat-Based Engagement Platform

ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Jun 25, 2015) - Brazen (www.brazen.com), the engagement platform that connects organizations with their stakeholders, today announced the company has secured $4.7 million in a funding round led by Osage Venture Partners, with participation from Randstad Innovation Fund and existing investors Militello Capital and Kegonsa Capital Partners. This brings the company's total investment to date to more than $10 million. The Brazen platform allows organizations to schedule and host chat-based online meetups and events to engage a wide variety of audiences.

Real-time messaging and collaboration applications have experienced explosive growth as companies across industries seek to improve employee productivity, increase operational efficiencies and reduce costs. However, to date, the benefits have been limited to enabling interactions among internal teams. Brazen's software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform allows companies to create engagement and interaction among people who do not already know each other and strengthen fragmented communities.

"Whether it's for recruiting, retention, marketing, or fundraising, organizations all over the world are finding it more and more difficult to engage their key stakeholders," said Brazen CEO Ed Barrientos. "Brazen uniquely combines the efficiency of text-based chat with the intentionality that only an event model can deliver. The combination creates powerful one-on-one engagement that really works."

More than 150 customers, including Raytheon, Gannett and Amtrak, use the Brazen platform to engage existing employees and attract and hire new talent. Universities and organizations, including Dartmouth, Gainsight, AmeriCorps Alums, and Penn State, use the platform to drive alumni engagement, build community or engage prospects and customers. This broadening of Brazen's customer base has prompted the company to drop the "Careerist" from its name and launch a rebranded website at www.brazen.com.

"It's critical for organizations to find out how to engage with Talent: the importance of chat events is increasing in this respect," says Linda Galipeau, CEO of Randstad North America and Chair of the Randstad Innovation Fund. "Brazen fits nicely into our strategy to have an integrated tech enabled approach towards global talent engagement."

"Chat has become the preferred means of communication both privately and within the workplace," said Sean Dowling of Osage Partners. "Brazen's unique take on using chat to connect people who have never met before has broad applicability to help organizations connect with customers, employees, and audiences, and we think the company is well positioned to become the leader in an enormous market."

To learn more about Brazen or take a tour of the platform, visit www.brazen.com.

About Osage Venture Partners
Osage Venture Partners (OVP) invests in early stage, business-to-business (B2B) software companies headquartered on the East Coast from its offices just outside of Philadelphia, PA. With over $100M under management, OVP seeks to invest in determined and creative entrepreneurs and provide them with the assistance required to build high-growth businesses. For more information, visit http://osagepartners.com/.

About Randstad
Randstad specializes in solutions in the field of flexible work and human resources services. Our services range from regular temporary staffing and permanent placements to inhouse, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions. The Randstad Group is one of the leading HR services providers in the world, with top-three positions in Argentina, Belgium & Luxembourg, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the United States as well as major positions in Australia and Japan. In 2014, Randstad had approximately 29,000 corporate employees and around 4,400 branches and in-house locations in 39 countries around the world. Randstad generated revenue of EUR 17.2 billion in 2014. Randstad was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands. Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam, where options for stocks in Randstad are also traded. For more information see www.randstad.com.

About Brazen
Brazen helps organizations create better engagement through chat-based online events. The world's leading organizations use Brazen's software platform to interact and engage with employees, job candidates, customers, students and alumni. The company is venture-backed and headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metro area. For more information, visit www.brazen.com.