REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ConnectAndSell, Inc., provider of on-demand telephone conversations with prospects and customers, announced today that it has closed a $7.5 million later-stage round of financing led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms. In conjunction with the financing, Steve Harrick, General Partner of IVP, has joined Mike Maples Jr., Managing Partner of Floodgate, on the company’s Board of Directors. Floodgate is the original seed investor in ConnectAndSell.
ConnectAndSell provides Live Conversation Automation solutions, using disruptive technology to dramatically increase the number of live telephone conversations sales representatives can have per hour. The company’s solution combines proprietary software with outsourced call centers to substantially improve the connect rate. ConnectAndSell customers are guaranteed a minimum of five live conversations per hour with targeted contacts, with current customers averaging seven to ten conversations per hour. The new funding will be used to accelerate the company’s customer penetration and enhance technology depth of the core product.
“ConnectAndSell is managed by a capable group of serial entrepreneurs with a proven track record. Their technology is a game changer and their customers are ecstatic,” said Harrick. “As a later-stage investor, IVP works to fund the type of breakout companies that ConnectAndSell represents. The company is cash flow positive and we are excited to work with them to accelerate their growth.”
“ConnectAndSell is a technology enabled service that provides radically more customer connections to sales people,” explained Shawn Mclaren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ConnectAndSell. “IVP has an established track record of backing truly significant companies in Silicon Valley and we look forward to working with them as a partner.”
“I am very excited that the company’s vision - The End of Dialing - is coming through,” said Maples. “This funding will help to make the product even more awesome and turbo charge their acceleration. Every enterprise sales and marketing team should use ConnectAndSell to increase their productivity.”
ConnectAndSell’s rapidly expanding customer base includes Fortune 100 giants, small businesses, mid-market corporations, start-ups, sole proprietors and individual sales reps. Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in Redwood City, California. ConnectAndSell continues to expand its team in engineering, sales, marketing, customer support and corporate administration.
About ConnectAndSell
ConnectAndSell delivers live conversations on demand, using a combination of proprietary switching technology and our virtual sales agents. A minimum of five conversations per hour is guaranteed or our customers do not pay for the online session. This allows ConnectAndSell customers to increase sales without increasing sales headcount. For more information, visit http://www.connectandsell.com.
About Institutional Venture Partners (IVP)
With $3 billion of committed capital, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) is one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms in the United States. The partnership is currently investing IVP XIII, a $750 million later-stage fund focused on investments in rapidly growing technology and digital media companies. Founded in 1980, IVP has invested in over 300 companies, 85 of which have gone public. IVP has a 30 year IRR of 43.2% and is one of the top performing firms in the industry. IVP specializes in venture growth investments, industry rollups, founder liquidity transactions and select public market investments. Since its inception, IVP investments include such notable companies as ArcSight (ARST), Aspect Communications (ASPT), At Road (ARDI), Business.com (RHD), Clarify (CLFY), ComScore (SCOR), Concur Technologies (CNQR), Danger (MSFT), Digital River (DRIV), Form Factor (FORM), Foundry Networks (FDRY), HomeAway, Juniper Networks (JNPR), Kayak, LSI Corporation (LSI), Mobile 365 (SY), MySQL (ORCL), Netflix (NFLX), Polycom (PLCM), Quigo (TWX), Seagate (STX), Synchronoss (SNCR), Tivo (TIVO), Twitter, Websense (WBSN) and Zynga. For more information, visit http://www.ivp.com or follow IVP on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ivp.
About Floodgate
FLOODGATE is a Silicon Valley based, early-stage micro-fund focused on start-ups that fundamentally disrupt existing large markets or create new market categories. The firm currently works with business-focused companies such as Connectandsell, Bazaarvoice, Solarwinds, Spiceworks, Egnyte, Demandforce, and Okta, as well as consumer-focused companies such as Twitter, Chegg, Formspring, Kno, Modcloth, ReputationDefender, and ngmoco.
ConnectAndSell, The End Of Dialing and "We Manufacture Selling Time" are trademarks of ConnectAndSell. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.