Company takes on “Big Four” firms as workforce shifts to freelance
Chicago, IL – March 5, 2018 – Paro announced a $5 million Series A investment led by Revolution Ventures, with participation from Global Founders Capital and Tom Williams. Paro was founded by Michael Burdick and Dan Wywrot in 2015 to connect highly-skilled finance professionals with companies looking to outsource or augment their accounting and finance team.
The accounting and financial advisory services industry is estimated to be a half-trillion dollar global industry and by 2025, it’s projected that more than 50% of the 164 million Americans in the workforce will be freelancing. Gig economy professionals spend a large percentage of their time looking for work, marketing themselves, and bidding against other freelancers in inefficient open marketplaces. Paro uses matching algorithms to bring work directly to the highest quality finance and accounting professionals, thereby solving their number one pain point: income predictability.
Since launching, Paro has matched nearly a thousand businesses–from midsize and enterprise businesses to growth stage startups–with hundreds of freelance bookkeepers, accountants, financial analysts, and CFOs all on a virtual, on-demand, hourly basis. Paro’s network is highly curated – only 2% of applicants are accepted – which means clients know they are working with the best of the best.
“Our mission first and foremost is to empower people to do what they love,” said Michael Burdick, Co-founder and CEO of Paro. “We’re doing so by providing the finance experts in our network with a consistent pipeline of projects aligned with their skills, industry experience and interests through our matchmaking algorithms. Freelancers get more of the work they want and in parallel, clients get the exact skills and expertise they need when they need it and for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. With this fundraise, we are thrilled to be expanding our freelancer product suite as well as continuing our push into enterprises.”
Eddie Lou, Co-Founder of Shiftgig and Paro Board Director shares his perspective: “Paro’s vision is much bigger than a managed marketplace. It’s not just about turning accounting on its head for the benefit of the businesses who need accounting support; it’s about creating new opportunities for finance and accounting talent to collaborate with each other, to work on their terms, to reap more of the financial benefits, and grow their own businesses.”
“Paro is disrupting the accounting and financial services industry, historically dominated by the Big Four and other large incumbents burdened with high partnership and overhead expenses,” said Clara Sieg, partner at Revolution Ventures. “As professionals increasingly seek flexibility in their work life, Paro’s platform continues to attract best-in-class talent to support their growing client base, ranging from startups to large financial institutions, highlighting the desirability of flexible, cost-effective, and reliable support for businesses at every stage of growth.”
About Paro
Paro is the alternative employment model for the future of finance work. Through technology, Paro matches businesses with the highest vetted freelance bookkeepers, accountants, financial analysts, and CFOs who provide remote, on-demand, hourly support when clients need it. www.paro.io
About Revolution Ventures
Revolution Ventures, led by Steve Case, Tige Savage, and David Golden, invests in start-ups and early-stage companies founded and led by passionate entrepreneurs. Revolution Ventures is focused on investing in technology-enabled businesses that empower consumers and businesses and disrupt existing, multi-billion dollar industries. Revolution Ventures is headquartered in Washington, D.C. www.revolution.com/ventures
