NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zerve today announced the launch of its new consumer platform. Created to help people find unique experiences in their own hometowns and while traveling, Zerve now helps all of us make the most of our free time with a product that finally answers the age-old question: “I don’t know … what do you want to do today?”
For over a decade, Zerve has provided the back-end, cloud-based software that empowers merchants who now offer thousands of unique and exciting events and activities around the U.S. Zerve also provides the consumer-facing tools and passionate service team that enable people to book those events quickly and easily, both online and over the phone, has helped millions of consumers make decisions and attend events, and has collected a far greater number of reviews of the SMBs it covers than any other platform.
The company bootstrapped its way to profitability during its first decade, having needed only $2 million from a fantastic group of angel investors along the way. After a few more quiet financings since 2012, the company has now raised a total of $20 million from leading venture capital firms DFJ (Menlo Park) and New Atlantic Ventures (DC), as well as an influential group of top angel investors headlined by Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo.
Now Zerve is leveraging its unique data, content and merchant relationships to solve the biggest problem facing consumers in this area: how to find what’s happening in the first place and then to choose from that huge set of options. Zerve’s new product is unique in being built not just to help consumers find an incredible array of new ways to spend their free time at precisely the time and place they need it, but then to efficiently narrow in on and choose the best option for them, and ultimately to book it quickly and easily.
Zerve currently offers more than 30,000 unique, local things to do across 32 metropolitan areas in the U.S. They include varied and unique life-enriching experiences that help people to relax, get active, learn, laugh, explore, taste or reconnect, and the options run the gamut: sails and cruises, food and wine tastings, kayaking, tours, shows, hands-on classes, nightlife, and so much more; even swimming with wild dolphins, caving, and animal sanctuaries.
“We’re excited to now help people make much better use of their hard-earned free time and help them avoid being stuck always doing the same old things,” said Scott Newman, Founder and Executive Chairman. “People are busy and only getting busier. All of us need somewhere to turn when we have windows of free time approaching that we want to enjoy with our family, our friends, on a first date … even by ourselves. Technology has not yet solved this universal human problem and Zerve intends to change that. We are equally as thrilled that in launching this product Zerve will be shining a much brighter spotlight on the passionate, creative, tireless people that have inspired us, those business owners and teams that provide these wonderful experiences to the world.”
Consumers have already been turning to Zerve to help make great use of their free time. “I spent the summer as an intern in NYC,” said college student Collier Wimmer, who has been using Zerve’s beta site since June 2014. “I'm originally from North Carolina, so I used Zerve a lot to find different things to do in the city.”
For years Zerve has been empowering merchants to thrive in ways that they hadn’t thought possible. “Our partnership with Zerve is one of the top reasons for our growth,” said Todd Lefkovic, Owner, Foods of New York. “We use Zerve’s system to manage the whole business, our customers love Zerve, and their smart and helpful staff has always helped us stay ahead of the curve. This takes a lot of work off our hands and has helped our business grow many times over. There is nobody out there like Zerve; they are in a class of their own.”
About Zerve
Zerve offers more than 30,000 unique local things to do in 32 metros across the U.S. and empowers a network of merchants who run great local events and activities to supercharge their businesses. Founded in 2003, the company has experienced 12 straight years of growth and helped millions of consumers experience unique ways to spend their free time. Building on its success, Zerve recently opened an office in the Bay Area to collaborate with its headquarters in Soho (NY). The company has raised a total of $20 million from a combination of leading venture capital firms DFJ (in Menlo Park, CA) and New Atlantic Ventures (in Washington, DC), and an influential group of top angel investors headlined by Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo. For more information on Zerve, please visit: http://www.zerve.com/
