FaceUp raises $3M to foster speak-up culture and scale HR platform globally

The late seed round will support FaceUp’s ongoing international expansion efforts and business-focused product development

• Originally conceived as a non-profit and educational anti-bullying platform for students, FaceUp is now a global company with offices on four continents serving more than 3,360 organisations in 60+ countries
• This seed round arrives at a time when FaceUp have already achieved profitability and ARR above $1.5 million
• FaceUp combines legal and ESG compliance with a serious commitment to mindset change by way of fostering speak-up culture in organisations
• Funds will be used to continue scaling across the U.S., Latin America, and the Middle East
• Planned product developments include an AI assistant, a team temperature check feature, anonymous Q&A designed for meetings, and a survey solution extension

PRAGUE, Czechia (October 10, 2024) – FaceUp, the all-in-one anonymous reporting platform fostering a speak-up culture within professional and academic environments, has closed a $3 million late seed round. The round was led by Reflex Capital, with participation from Tilia Impact Ventures, supported by the European Investment Fund, and Lighthouse Ventures. The funds raised will support FaceUp’s ongoing international expansion and the development of new features such as an AI assistant, a survey solution extension, an anonymous Q&A feature designed for meetings, and a team temperature check feature. FaceUp already has more than 1,500 corporate and 2,000 education sector clients across 60-plus countries, with offices in Charleston, Dubai, Prague, Brno, Cheb, and Kampala. 

A pervasive culture of silence creates and exacerbates serious problems in workplaces such as harassment, ethics violations, safety concerns, corruption, and theft. This is a global problem: 17% of working Germans, 30% of working Americans and 46% of working Indians reported being bullied at work. In addition, 65% of employees worldwide witnessed at least one act of misconduct in their organisation, an untold number of which went unreported out of fear of professional retaliation or being ignored. The only way to counteract this dynamic is by creating a speak-up culture where whistleblowing is protected and issues can be acknowledged and addressed. This has long-term effects on the health and productivity of a company. For instance, a study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that a positive company culture makes employees 78% less likely to seek new employment.

FaceUp’s encrypted platform provides employees with the ability to easily, anonymously, and safely report these types of issues with someone in their organisation able to help them. Conceived as a not-for-profit anti-bullying measure for schools, FaceUp has grown into a social impact-driven startup that facilitates institutional culture change. Through the platform, companies are able to foster a speak-up culture that elevates employee safety and wellbeing, making them safer and more productive in the short and long term. 

Jan Sláma, Co-Founder and CEO of FaceUp, said: “FaceUp was born out of a drive to create social impact and cultural change. We have kept this as a core value even as we pivoted to a SaaS offering that’s now used by thousands of companies across industries worldwide. More and more, companies understand that employee wellbeing and productivity go hand in hand. Now that we have demonstrated the potential for scalability across industries and geographies, we will use the funding round to broaden and improve our tools and accelerate our efforts in the U.S. in particular, as well as Latin America, and the Middle East.”

David Špunar, Co-Founder and COO of FaceUp, said: “Regulation and compliance are the bare minimum in addressing modern workplace challenges, but that’s where many companies stop when it comes to anonymous reporting and misconduct tracking. We’ve approached whistleblowing not as a compliance hurdle but as a highly effective tool for employee wellbeing and reputation insurance. That has translated into real success on the back of profitable scaling. Our investors see this potential the same way we do, and we’re so happy to have their support.”

The FaceUp platform combines anonymous reporting, case management, a live hotline, and hundreds of possible use cases to turn whistleblowing into something actively beneficial for companies, government organisations, and their employees. Reporting is possible through chat, voice messages, app, and phone lines. FaceUp is also developing additional modules to make gathering feedback in different situations even easier. Almost 20,000 reports have been filed on the platform since the company’s founding in 2017.

The company is now developing an AI assistant, improving its whistleblower-facing interface, and launching a survey solution. With features that allow HR to follow up on anonymous claims without revealing the whistleblower’s identity in the correspondence, FaceUp goes well beyond standard annual anonymous surveys. Existing clients have reported improvements in curbing harassment, fraud, and more while improving company culture. 

Ondřej Fryc, Founder of Reflex Capital, said: "The FaceUp team figured out how to transform a non-profit initiative for schools into a profitable business without sacrificing that founding mission of social impact. We believe this is not a nice-to-have product but an essential tool of major importance for corporate and government entities, so the potential for growth across markets is enormous. This is a team that can do it. We’re proud to support it.”

Petr Vítek, Partner at Tilia Impact Ventures, said: “Professional environments are places that should be fundamentally productive and safe, but they turn toxic due to bullying, politicking, corruption, and fraud. FaceUp is addressing this problem head-on by not just protecting whistleblowers but by creating tools that foster speak-up culture more broadly. The innovation they’ve already done on the platform is extremely promising for further growth.” 

This funding round will kickstart additional product developments to bolster the platform’s broader HR applications and accelerate commercial efforts across the world, with an emphasis on the U.S. market.

About FaceUp

FaceUp is the only all-in-one platform for truly embracing speak-up culture in organisations worldwide. By combining anonymous reporting, survey solutions, audience engagement, and dozens of possible use cases, FaceUp protects companies from the bottom up while turning whistleblowing into a tangible benefit for businesses. Its secure and accessible solution allows employees and pupils to report instances of wrongdoing, harassment, fraud, and more, all of which protects companies’ resources and reputations. Founded in 2017 as a non-profit by Jan Sláma, David Špunar, and Pavel Ihm to enable bystanders to help bullied schoolmates, FaceUp is now used by more than 1,500 businesses and 2,000 schools across 60 countries. The founders received recognition from Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list and won the European Crime Prevention Award in 2021, ranking first in Czechia and third in Europe. Headquartered in Prague, FaceUp has offices in Charleston, Dubai, Brno, Cheb, and Kampala.

Contact for CZ media: alzbeta.trusinova@gmail.com

Contact for Global media: kristyna.kusnierikova@faceup.com