NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Qwoted, a platform that is disrupting how journalists connect with brands, small businesses and industry experts, today announced that it has closed a $3 million Series Seed. Venture Capital firm, Third Prime, led this round of seed funding that included co-investment from investment firm Gaingels, pre-seed investors Prosek Venture Partners and Vested, and a consortium of communications firms including Integral, Caliber Corporate Advisers, Haymaker PR, FHS Partners and Red Lab. Additional investors include Caleb Silver, Editor in Chief of Investopedia, David Siegel, CEO of MeetUp and Tom Rovak, Senior Advisor to Fahrenheit 212.
The platform has experienced impressive growth since launching in April of 2019, reporting nearly 40,000 users to date, including over 200 paying users. Qwoted’s revenues have grown nearly 2000% over the past 12 months and the platform's user base includes premier names like Salesforce, IBM, Bank of America, Edelman, Weber Shandwick, BCW, University of Southern California and New York University.
Qwoted plans to use this investment to augment its growth, by enhancing its technology capabilities and adding premier talent to its sales, marketing and media success teams, to build brand awareness and onboard new customers.
“This funding will directly support Qwoted’s mission to help journalists and industry experts to find each other more easily and build long-term relationships” said Daniel P. Simon, Qwoted’s CEO & Co-Founder. “Securing this investment is a testament to the value that Qwoted is bringing to its users.”
Qwoted uses AI to connect the media with matching sources and PRs instantly, while sparing their inboxes from pitches that are not on target for their reporting, and providing ideas and experts for their work, all in one place.
“Qwoted is more than a PR tool. It’s a platform that presents an opportunity to reimagine earned media and the role that traditional PR plays in connecting various players in the industry” said Keith Hamlin, Managing Director, Third Prime. “We are thrilled to issue this investment that will support Qwoted’s work to democratize access to earned media and benefit its constituents, including agencies, established companies, publishers and small businesses.”
“We're committed to leveraging technology to help our clients get in front of the right journalists at the right time, particularly in today’s fast-paced news cycle,” said Harvey Hudes, CEO of Caliber Corporate Advisers. “As early adopters of Qwoted, we've seen the role that this platform plays in supporting our team to keep a pulse on the media landscape, and we look forward to supporting its evolution as investors."
Qwoted has prioritized assisting small businesses as well. Through its Small Business Hub, Qwoted provides tips and information for small businesses to more easily secure media coverage.
“Qwoted is transforming how media relations practitioners build relationships with reporters and secure coverage” said Binna Kim, President and Co-Founder of Vested. “We are excited to continue our investment in the platform and to see Qwoted provide a better way to a better story.”
Qwoted’s media advisory board, composed of top reporters, journalism professors, and journalism trade associations, oversee the direction of the development of the platform to ensure that the firm conforms to ethical standards and consistently works to support journalists.
About Qwoted
Qwoted is a freemium platform that connects the media with industry experts by providing a diverse community of vetted sources and PR professionals for their stories. Qwoted makes it easy to boost visibility by getting in front of the right media opportunities.
