Logistics startup Slync raises $24M, attempts to distance itself from disgraced founder

News Summary

  • By one estimate, the market for supply chain management software was valued at $15.8 billion in 2022.Tive and Altana, firms developing supply chain visibility tools, recently raised $54 million and $100 million, respectively.
  • He told private bankers that the $20 million, which amounted to 40% of the $50 million Slync raised from angels and venture firms, represented “a distribution from my company” — a distribution that Slync’s board of directors never authorized.Meanwhile, some of Slync’s staff went months without pay.
  • “But this infusion of funds is also an indication that our investment partners see the potential in Slync’s technology.”So what is Slync’s technology?At a high level, Slync connects disparate shipping and logistics systems, ingesting and processing data to (ideally) automate various repetitive processes.
  • Setting aside the fact that hiring might be a challenge, given the company’s historical payroll issues, Slync’s latest funding tranche was only a fraction of the size of the previous, all-equity tranche — suggesting Kirchner casts a long shadow.
  • During all this, the startup lost its chief marketing officer, chief revenue officer and chief financial officer.Understandably, Slync has made a concerted effort to distance itself from Kirchner — and it’s had some success, seemingly.
  • We reached out to the company for more information, and Greg Kefer, the chief marketing officer, agreed to an email interview.Off the bat, Kefer refused to answer questions pertaining to Kirchner, save that he was suspended from his position as Slync’s CEO in 2022.
Supply chain management software startup Slync, which was at one point valued at $240 million, hasnt had the easiest go of it lately.Slyncs founder, Christopher Kirchner, was charged by the Justi [+5343 chars]