Enkari
Project Management Software | AgileZen.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
N/A | Acquisition | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Enkari, operating as AgileZen, was established in 2009 by co-founders Niki and Nate Kohari. As a software developer, Nate Kohari's experience with existing project management tools, which he found ill-suited for small teams, sparked the initial concept for the company. Recognizing that Kanban principles could offer a superior way for small teams to visualize their workflow, the founders developed AgileZen. The positive reception to an early version of the product confirmed they were addressing a genuine market need.
AgileZen was a web-based project management software that utilized principles from agile, lean, and Kanban methodologies. The platform was designed to serve a wide range of clients, from freelancers and startups to small and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises. The core of the product was its visual organization of work, allowing users to see the overall project picture while maintaining focus on individual tasks. Key features included Kanban boards, customizable user stories, progress tracking, and file attachments. The system also facilitated team collaboration through notifications, status indicators, and comments. By tracking key performance metrics, AgileZen provided analytics to help teams identify areas for improvement.
The company's business model was subscription-based, offering plans such as an "Unlimited" tier for $99 per month and a unique "Impact Edition" where customers could pay what they wanted, with 50% of the revenue being donated. By April 2010, AgileZen had grown its customer base to 9,000 users. This traction led to its acquisition by Rally Software in April 2010, a move intended to integrate Kanban functionalities into Rally's application lifecycle management (ALM) offerings. Following the acquisition, AgileZen continued to evolve, launching an iPad application in January 2013 to facilitate real-time collaboration.
Keywords: AgileZen, Enkari, Niki Kohari, Nate Kohari, Rally Software, project management software, Kanban tool, agile development, lean methodology, task management, visual workflow, team collaboration, subscription software, SaaS, application lifecycle management, ALM, startup acquisition, software developer tool, Raleigh startup, project visualization