Cooleaf

01 / WHAT IT BUILT

What the company did

Cooleaf was an Atlanta-based employee engagement platform co-founded by John Duisberg and Prem Bhatia. It began as a health and wellness platform for individuals, employers, and fitness providers, and evolved into software helping companies engage and retain employees: designing employee experience strategy and running it through a platform for recognition of core values, storytelling, virtual events, wellness and community challenges, employee surveys, and team competitions. By 2015 it had 24 paying company customers including Cushman & Wakefield, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia State University, DeKalb Medical, and WestRock. In April 2024 it was acquired by ITA Group, a West Des Moines-based global leader in employee engagement solutions, whose platform is now powered by Cooleaf's recognition and rewards SaaS technology.

03 / EVENT HISTORY

Events in the structured record

1. 2015
   $500K funding; Citi pilot

   Cooleaf closed a $500K funding round and was selected as one of nine finalists in the Citi Smarter Worklife Challenge, earning a share of the $50,000 prize and an internal pilot program with Citi, with 24 paying company customers.

2. 2024
   Acquired by ITA Group

   On April 2, 2024, ITA Group announced the acquisition of Cooleaf, an award-winning recognition and rewards SaaS platform, combining it into an industry-leading employee engagement solution for brands looking to reduce turnover and improve productivity.

05 / CAUSAL CHAIN

How the factors connect

1. 01

   Raised approximately $800,000 in total (reports cite a $500,000 round announced in 2015).

2. 02

   In April 2024 it was acquired by ITA Group on undisclosed terms.

3. 03

   No audited loss figure was publicly disclosed.