Former Procter & Gamble CEO John E. Pepper Jr. is just one of a group of angel investors that offered up a first round of seed funding last week to Cincinnati-based diversity business matchmaker
ConnXus.
Using the internet to facilitate its work, ConnXus is making it easier than ever for corporations to find minority and women-owned companies to meet their supplier needs.
ConnXus was launched in 2010 by Rod Robinson and Chris Downie, founder of SparkPeople. The site’s mission is to help minority and women-owned businesses find more opportunities with large companies that are looking to increase their supplier diversity. The site allows them to connect by giving member buyer corporations the ability to post their project needs online with ConnXus. Supplier members then have the opportunity to submit bids.
“We’ve already seen lots of tremendous success stories,” says Robinson. “We’re just really hitting our stride.”
Since its launch in 2010, ConnXus’ corporate buyer members have posted more than $75 million in contract opportunities for supplier members. The site’s member supplier companies now number nearly 1,000 and include hundreds of business categories, such as construction and office equipment.
Robinson, who has a background in corporate procurement and supplier diversity and has also been a minority small business owner, says both buyer companies and supplier companies can pay for “premium” service, which provides more assistance in matchmaking and marketing from ConnXus. He sees the premium service as source of significant growth and revenue in the future.
ConnXus now has two employees, but Robinson says he has plans to hire up to six more over the next year.