NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emma, email marketing software and service provider, has secured $5 million in growth capital, the company announced today. Contributing to the equity and debt financing were Nashville Capital Network (“NCN”) and North Carolina-based Square 1 Bank. Silvermark Partners advised Emma in the transaction.
The financing will support the continued momentum of the 12-year-old software company as it expands its sales and marketing efforts and accelerates product development.
In the past year, Emma has grown its staff by more than 50 percent, opened its first international office in Melbourne, Australia, acquired marketing software provider Boomerang and hosted its first-ever conference, Marketing United, which drew a sold-out crowd of 650 marketers to Nashville in late April. Emma has also rolled out a steady stream of product enhancements since late last year, including email marketing automation workflow tools, dynamic content and robust integrations with best-of-breed platforms like Salesforce, Eventbrite, Shopify and Infusionsoft.
"With a great product and strong partnerships in place, we feel like it's time for us to move even faster," says Clint Smith, Emma co-founder and CEO. "And as a historically bootstrapped company, we wanted to be very thoughtful about the shape of our first-ever outside capital raise. The financing from NCN and Square 1 has enabled us to staff up in key areas and accelerate our plans heading into 2016. With NCN, we're thrilled and honored to have some of Nashville's smartest and most successful entrepreneur-investors with us for the rest of our journey."
Emma currently works with more than 45,000 clients around the world, and in the past year has seen increased traction among mid-market brands.
"We believe modern marketing teams shouldn't have to choose between capabilities and usability," says Grey Garner, Emma's VP of marketing. "And we're out to provide that just-right mix of sophisticated marketing features wrapped in an Emma software-and-service experience you simply can't get anywhere else."
"Emma has long been a much-admired brand here in Nashville," said Sid Chambless, executive director of NCN. "The opportunity to help Emma become a global leader in digital marketing was very attractive to our partnership. The management team, their current momentum, and the huge market were all compelling factors that attracted this investment."
Zack Mansfield, senior vice president at Square 1 Bank, added, “We are passionate about working alongside entrepreneurs to help build market-leading companies. The team at Emma has built a fantastic business with a truly unique culture, and we are delighted to join as a partner in their continued growth.”
To learn more about Emma, visit www.myemma.com.
About Emma
Emma is
a provider of best-in-class email marketing software and services that
help organizations of all sizes get more from their marketing. Through
tailored editions of its platform for businesses, franchises, retailers,
universities and agencies, Emma aims to offer enterprise-level
capabilities in a team-friendly experience that's simple and enjoyable.
Key features include mobile-ready design templates, email automation,
audience segmenting and dynamic content, plus integration with top CRM
solutions, ecommerce platforms and social networks. Headquartered in
Nashville, and with offices in Portland, New York and Melbourne, Emma
powers the emails of more than 45,000 organizations worldwide, including
Mario Batali, Bridgestone and Sylvan Learning Center. To learn more,
visit myemma.com,
follow Emma on Twitter or
find us on Facebook.
About Nashville Capital Network
NCN consists of a network of
130 professional investors, most of whom have been founders and
executives in Nashville’s most successful companies. NCN leverages the
experience and expertise of the individuals within the group to
identify, develop, and support promising high growth companies. NCN
manages several investment funds including NCN Angel Fund I, NCN Angel
Fund II, and Tennessee Angel Fund. For more information, visit www.nashvillecapital.com.
About Square 1 Bank
Square 1 Bank is a full service
commercial bank dedicated exclusively to serving the financial needs of
the venture capital community and entrepreneurs in all stages of growth
and expansion. Square 1's expertise, focus and strong capital base
provide flexible resources and unmatched support to meet our clients'
needs. Square 1 has offices coast-to-coast in Austin, the Bay
Area, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Durham, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New
York, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.square1bank.com.
