BRANCHOUT RAISES $25 MILLION, SURPASSES 25 MILLION USERS

BranchOut, the largest professional networking application on Facebook, has surpassed 25 million registered users, adding more than three new registered users every second.

The continued adoption of BranchOut by global users spurred another round of funding, as BranchOut has closed $25 million in Series C financing led by Mayfield Fund. Previous investors Accel, Norwest Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures also participated in the round. This financing brings BranchOut’s total funding to $49 million.

Powering the Professional Profile for Everyone

BranchOut is the first professional network to enable all workers, regardless of industry, role, or level, to create secure professional profiles on the Facebook Platform.

“We power the professional profile for the Facebook generation,” said BranchOut Founder and CEO Rick Marini. “Online networking is not just for managers and executives. New college graduates, retail workers, nurses, software engineers and military veterans re-entering the workforce can all benefit substantially from having strong professional profiles on Facebook. We’re making it easier for our users to find jobs through their established and authentic Facebook relationships.”

BranchOut is a powerful tool for both job seekers and recruiters because it enables them to utilize their real relationships, while tapping into the unprecedented scale of Facebook. BranchOut’s 25 million registered users can leverage their network connections of more than 400 million professional profiles to help them find jobs, recruit talent, and open doors to new opportunities.

Network Effect Fueled by Mobile and Global User Growth

Much of BranchOut’s growth has come from its emerging mobile user base. Since adding the ability to connect with Facebook friends from its mobile application in February, 40 percent of its new users now join from mobile devices. BranchOut is now accessible via Android smartphones, Apple iOS devices, and tablets.

With an average of nearly two million new registered users joining weekly since February, BranchOut is also growing rapidly from increased international adoption. Approximately 50 percent of all new users join from countries outside of the U.S. – primarily in the U.K., Europe, Australia, Canada, and India – to utilize both their personal and professional relationships on a single network.

International growth has been fueled by key overseas partnerships. Earlier this year, BranchOut partnered with StepStone and totaljobs.com, the leading job sites in continental Europe and the U.K., respectively. BranchOut’s “Inside Connections” feature is integrated on both sites, allowing job seekers to leverage their Facebook friend networks to land jobs.

The Series C funding will allow BranchOut to expand its San Francisco-based team of 45 people.

“It’s unprecedented to see this type of growth, which makes BranchOut one of the most used apps on Facebook,” said Tim Chang, a managing director at Mayfield Fund. “I’m excited by the opportunity BranchOut has to introduce the notion of a professional social network to the 90 percent of the population that is not on LinkedIn. BranchOut is about establishing and crafting your professional identity, which extends far beyond just job searches and connection requests.”

Chang joins BranchOut’s Board of Directors, which also includes Marini, Kevin Efrusy from Accel Partners, Geoff Yang of Redpoint Ventures, and Co-founder of Ooga Labs, Stan Chudnovsky.