PowerSteering Drives Home Series B Deal

Although enterprise software provider PowerSteering Software Inc. early last week garaged a $2 million Series B financing from Hudson Ventures, the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm is already back on the venture capital trail.

The company is expected to market a $6 million to $8 million Series C offering next spring, and is already lining up meetings with potential venture capital backers.

Although Hudson Ventures usually does later-stage deals that are a bit larger – in the $3 million to $4 million range – the firm decided to bend the rules for PowerSteering CEO Andy Singleton, who is an old friend of one of the partners.

And, of course, it certainly didn’t hurt that Hudson became immediately enamored with the company’s product.

“Enterprise portfolio management is a pretty hot space,” said Jay Goldberg, a partner at Hudson Ventures. “Companies have projects going on all over the world, but most big companies don’t have control over the myriad projects they have going on simultaneously.”

That’s where PowerSteering comes in. True to its name, PowerSteering’s software enables companies to automatically aggregate data on all the different information technology projects they are involved in worldwide and view it all in one place.

Specifically, the product is designed to help companies execute and manage such projects via the Internet, saving both time and money.

PowerSteering’s software also has applications in merger and acquisition transactions.

“There is a tremendous amount of information to aggregate on both sides, what to consolidate, what to eliminate,” Goldberg explained. “PowerSteering can help them figure all that out.”

To date, the company has signed on about a dozen customers, including Raytheon Co., GE Capital, Time Computers, Lexmark International Inc. and Sagemaker.

While PowerSteering does have a few small software companies nipping at its heels, Goldberg said he isn’t worried because the space is big enough for a few players, and it’s still early in the game.

Additionally, he said the company’s investors won’t likely consider an exit strategy for another three to five years.

“We’re thinking, could this be a $100 million software company?” he said. “Right now, we have the opportunity to either sell the company or take it public. It’s not a one-trick pony. It has applications in a few markets, so could be a potential IPO candidate.”

PowerSteering intends to use the proceeds from its latest venture windfall for working capital. Previously, the company was funded by angel investors.

Robyn Kurdek can be contacted at:Robyn.Kurdek@tfn.com