Five Elms Capital doubles down on RFP360, bringing its investment to $12M
March 16, 2020 | Startland News Staff
RFP360 proved its worth and ability to push itself in the months following Five Elms Capital’s first investment in the software platform, said Thomas Kershisnik.
RFP360’s elevator pitch: We develop software solutions that transform how organizations worldwide request information, respond to requests and connect — making the RFP and proposal process far more efficient, effective, collaborative, consistent and repeatable for everyone. Our complete approach covers every angle, from knowledge management and response automation to request development and vendor evaluation.
The payoff? Five Elms today announced a second strategic growth investment in RFP360 — bringing its total backing of the Leawood-based startup to $12 million, said Kershisnik, managing director at Five Elms Capital.
“It’s clear that RFP360 truly understands an underserved market, offering a unique platform that creates value for all sides of the process — groups that issue RFPs and other information requests and teams whose job it is to respond,” he said. “We are excited to continue to partner with them and be a part of their growth.”
Click here to check out the firms on Startland News list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies in 2019.
RFP360, plans to use the funds to support ongoing expansion of the product development, marketing and sales teams.
The investment comes a year after the first round of funding from Five Elms, a leading growth investor in founder-owned software businesses, which came in conjunction with the hiring of David Lintz as chief executive officer.
In 2019, RFP360 also expanded its executive leadership team by adding Beau Wysong as chief marketing officer and most recently Ryan Townsend — co-founder and former CTO of PayIt — as chief technology officer, as well as moving its global headquarters to Leawood after more than doubling its headcount.
Click here to read more about RFP360’s acceleration.
“We experienced a tremendous amount of growth in the last year from both a personnel and product standpoint,” Lintz said. “The additional investment from Five Elms will allow us to accelerate our growth and success in 2020 while continuing to disrupt the industry.”
RFP360 — founded by David Hulsen and Stuart Ludlow and previously known as RFP365 — was named one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2018.
Featured Business

2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
She came to Kansas seeing a land of opportunity; now her just-launched bookstore opens doors for Black creatives
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. WICHITA — Latasha N. Eley Kelly’s new storefront not only combines her love of books, education, and supporting local creatives, she said; Left on Read also serves as a unique community…
New Westport coffee shop hopes to crown a fresh local favorite in the spot that launched Ruby Jean’s
Move over, office coffee pot; Tamara Grubb’s workspace brews its own premium drinks Tamara Grubb was just looking for a nice office space when she walked into a Westport building — a long-ago gas station with a distinctive double-A frame roof that once launched the popular Ruby Jean’s Juicery brand. Her first thought: This space…


