# Dan Bladen

> Dan Bladen is the British co-founder and CEO of Kadence, a workplace intelligence company that grew out of Chargifi, his wireless-power startup. Raised in rural Suffolk, educated in theology and seasoned by hands-on technology work, he turned a pandemic-era collapse in office hardware demand into software for coordinating people, time and space. His work now centers on a practical question: how can leaders make offices useful without confusing presence with performance?

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Kadence
- **Organizations:** Kadence, Chargifi, St Paul's Hammersmith, BT, Techstars, Praxis
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** BA (Hons), Theology/Theological Studies, St Mellitus College, London, Thomas Mills High School, Framlingham
- **Known for:** Co-founded Chargifi in 2013 and led its transition into Kadence., Named as an author on the issued British patent GB2528911, 'Power system, apparatus and method.', Completed the Techstars + R/GA Internet of Things accelerator with Chargifi in 2014.

## Career timeline

- **Childhood** — Tinkered with technology in his grandfather's garage and networked donated computers for LAN games.
- **Age 11-15** — Worked in his father's hardware store in Framlingham, learning sales and customer service.
- **From age 18** — Worked for a large London church for roughly six years while studying theology, eventually leading its technology, audiovisual and infrastructure work.
- **2013** — Co-founded Chargifi with Charlie Cannell after a six-month trip highlighted the difficulty of keeping devices charged.
- **2014** — Chargifi joined the Techstars + R/GA Internet of Things accelerator.
- **2017** — A power-system patent naming Bladen was issued; Chargifi was also selected for Tech City UK's Upscale program.
- **2019-11** — Moved with his family to the San Francisco Bay Area to grow Chargifi in the United States and be closer to investors and board members.
- **2020** — After office-charger demand collapsed, led the company through a light-ring product and then a hard pivot to workplace scheduling software.
- **2021-10** — Chargifi rebranded as Kadence.
- **2022** — Kadence announced a $10 million funding round to grow its hybrid-work platform.
- **2025-07** — Kadence announced a $20 million Series A led by High Alpha to expand its AI roadmap.
- **2026-05** — Appeared on X-Team's Keep Moving Forward podcast to argue for agile, intentional work rather than blanket attendance mandates.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Chargifi in 2013 and led its transition into Kadence.
- Named as an author on the issued British patent GB2528911, 'Power system, apparatus and method.'
- Completed the Techstars + R/GA Internet of Things accelerator with Chargifi in 2014.
- Chargifi was selected for Tech City UK's Upscale program in 2017.
- Led Kadence through a $20 million Series A announced in July 2025.
- Built Kadence into a platform that the company reported was used by more than 10,000 teams in over 40 countries in 2025.
- Served on leadership teams of international standards bodies, according to his Praxis profile.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Published a LinkedIn article explaining workplace management systems and office-space optimization.
- **2026-05** — Appeared on X-Team's Keep Moving Forward podcast, where he called hybrid a loaded term and argued for agile, purposeful workplace design.
- **2025-07** — Announced Kadence's $20 million Series A led by High Alpha, with funding directed toward its AI roadmap.
- **2025-01** — Joined Dave Cairns on the Transforming Work podcast to discuss the rhythm and flow of people, work, place and space.

## Links

- Website: https://kadence.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danbladen
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/danbladen

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/dan-bladen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18