MinuteKey raises new funds, expanding Boulder headquarters

BOULDER — Fast-growing Boulder company Minute Key Inc. has raised $2.5 million in new equity funding to help the firm complete development of a new version of its key-making kiosks that CEO Randy Fagundo said Monday has the potential to double the size of the business.

The new funding round is an addition to MinuteKey’s  $10 million Series B round raised in 2012, and comes from the same investment firms, Matrix Partners and Serent Capital.

Founded in 2008, MinuteKey — which is in the process of expanding its Boulder headquarters — makes self-service automated key duplication kiosks for use mostly at large chain retailers such as Lowe’s, Menards and Walmart.

MinuteKey had raised $30 million in debt financing from Main Street Capital Corp., in 2014 that the company hasn’t yet used up. But Fagundo said in a phone interview that the debt financing is to be used specifically to deploy machines, not so much for new product development.

The next generation of MinuteKey’s kiosk, Fagundo said, will be faster, better, cheaper and smaller than the current machine. The hope, he said, is that it will open sales opportunities in grocery stores, drugstores and convenience stores. In the beta stage now, the company plans to roll the new machines out next year.

“It will allow us to go into other locations that have less space,” Fagundo said.

MinuteKey enjoyed revenue of a little more than $31 million in 2015 roughly $8 million more than the year before. Fagundo said the company is projecting sales of more than $36 million this year.

The company has 160 employees, including about 50 at its headquarters at 4760 Walnut St. Fagundo said the company, which contracts out its customer service now, will likely bring that function in-house soon, which will mean another five to 10 jobs in Boulder.  MinuteKey has roughly 10,000 square feet at its headquarters and is building out about 2,000 adjacent square feet that it will expand into in the next month or so.

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