MarginEdge announces $45M in funding as it moves to Ballston

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Restaurant software startup MarginEdge has raised $45 million in Series C funding, bringing the company’s total fundraising to over $70 million.

The fundraising news wraps up a busy 12 months for the 7-year-old company, which is expecting to move from Fairfax County into a new office space in Ballston this month and won accolades for its growth and office culture.

Founded and led by restaurateurs, MarginEdge offers a software product that streamlines all the back-of-house aspects of running a restaurant. It processes invoices, manages inventory, analyzes the cost and popularity of recipes, and provides budgeting, performance tracking and supplier bill payment capabilities.

“A lot of this funding will be invested in developing support and adding resources to our existing team,” co-founder and CEO Bo Davis said. “We’ve been through a huge growth spurt and feel like in many ways we have much of the team we need for the next 12 to 24 months.”

MarginEdge will hire an additional “50 or so” people throughout the year, but Davis says existing employees are doing amazing work, citing this year’s awards.

“We have an incredible team of brilliant, driven, creative, mission-oriented people who believe in what we are doing and care deeply about the customers we serve,” Davis said. “Any growth CEO will tell you scaling an organization and keeping the same passion you had when it was just a few folks on card tables in a back office somewhere to the point where you have hundreds of folks across the country is really tough. I’m proud of all of it but it’s our people and culture that makes any of our accomplishments truly special.”

The funding will also be used to add more functions and tools to its platform and expand MarginEdge’s network in the restaurant industry.

“There’s clear endorsement of our product and path, and we hope to arm our current and future clients with more ways to streamline their business,” Davis said.

MarginEdge’s new location will be in the top floor of an office building above Ballston Quarter mall (4200 Wilson Blvd.) — and it will have a commercial kitchen and restaurant where clients can come and cook.

“We move into our new space in just a few weeks and we are all really excited,” Davis said. “Ballston is such a vibrant neighborhood and central for so many of our local team members. We are excited to have a space built for collaboration and fits the needs of our team — plus the Capitol views aren’t bad either.”

The restaurant space is intended to celebrate the talents of MarginEdge’s clients and “keep our team really close to the end user we serve,” Davis said.

MarginEdge has 50 clients in Arlington, including South Block, Lost Dog Cafe and SER, and supports its local clients by catering lunch from them every week.

After begin recognized as a “Top Place to Work” by the Washington Post and Washington Business Journal, getting onto the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies and being recognized as a “Red Hot” local startup, Davis says MarginEdge is “excited about the year ahead.”

“There is so much on the horizon, from product improvements, to new strategic partnerships, to doubling down on current high-impact initiatives — it is going to be an amazing ride,” he said.