Smarter Sorting, an Austin-based startup that helps companies recycle chemicals, announced it has raised $17 million.
The company, founded in 2017, has raised $25 million to
date.
US Ecology, a leading regulated waste treatment, and disposal company led the latest round of funding, followed by RTP Ventures and a group of independent industry experts.
Smarter Sorting and US Ecology share a goal of cutting
retail regulated waste by 50 percent, according to a news release. The companies
are integrating their operations to make that goal a reality.
Smarter Sorting has created a smart chemical database that
works with its hardware and software to scan, identify, categorize and sort
every class of chemical-containing products. That helps retailers get rid of
unwanted chemicals. Smarter Sorting will then arrange to pick up those products
to recycle them instead of having them be destroyed in an incinerator.
The new round of funding will help Smarter Sorting increase
sales of its retail waste management and compliance platform. But it also helps
the company become a top solution provider for consumer product regulatory classification.
“By understanding items down to their chemical level and building software designed to optimize and simplify the use of advanced data, we enable retailers and other stakeholders to sustainably and accountably handled products,” Chris Ripley, Smarter Sorting CEO said in a news release. “By doing so, we are creating a brand-new era of responsible commerce.”
Smarter Sorting, which has more than 30 employees, is based in a building that was once served as an auto mechanic’s garage at 2900 E. Cesar Chavez St.
Roman Gonzalez, founder of Gardenio, courtesy photo
At Brown University, Roman Gonzalez studied philosophy to understand big things like love and purpose.
He wanted to distill
these difficult concepts and relate them in a way to make people’s lives
better.
At the same time, he
was working to reshape his relationship with food, and he learned that to make
a good salsa, it was all about the ingredients. And there were all these
different varieties of tomatoes. He became fascinated with the variety and
breadth of nature and food.
“It made me really
curious,” Gonzalez said.
He also started
creating craft cocktails with different herbs, spices and barks.
“I would run around my neighborhood and I started smelling the jasmine. I noticed an orange tree. The world started looking different,” Gonzalez said. “All of sudden the world became very bountiful. When you talk to people who have been growing food for a while, they talk about the same thing.”
That planted the seeds for what would eventually grow into his startup Austin-based Gardenio, which is an online marketplace for gardeners aimed at Millennials and a “mission-driven company striving for a healthier, more sustainable world where anyone has access to the resources they need to grow their own food.”
Gonzalez, who has a
background as a user experience designer, thought plants and gardening supplies
were primarily being marketed to retired folks with straw hats and flowered
shirts. With Gardenio, he wanted to create a better experience aimed at Millennials
like himself.
“By connecting people
to nature and to each other, I can have a really big impact in the world,”
Gonzalez said.
Officially founded in 2017, Gardenio joined the DivInc Accelerator program, which focuses on helping founders from diverse backgrounds and women. It has established a young, creative, inclusive brand that celebrates diversity and cultural impact, he said.
Gardenio launched its first
products in March of 2018. Gonzalez said he learned a lot from his early
customers. He made improvements based on their feedback. Gardenio also has more
than 30 people who work with the company as pro-bono consultants, who are 80
percent people of color and women and members of the LGBT community.
In April, Gardenio graduated
from the Tarmac Accelerator and on August 16th, the company launched
its mobile app.
Historically Gardenio
has brought on new customers and built its community by throwing fundraising
events, Gonzalez said. Long term the company plans to generate a lot of content
and create videos and paid social ads.
This year, Gardenio also raised a pre-seed round of funding from Austin angel investors Michael Barnes, founder and former CEO of Teacher Talent and Blanca Lesmes, CEO of BBImaging.
“I’ve known Roman for
years and I’ve watched him methodically and obsessively build Gardenio from the
ground up,” Barnes said. “When you see a strong tech professional become
obsessed with a vision of the future that ties into an existential urge— to
reconnect to the roots of our system of food— you know it’s got the right
nutrients to grow into a huge business.”
Overall, the lawn and
garden market is worth $49.9 billion with an annualized growth rate of 3.6
percent over the last five years, according to research firm IBISWorld.
Increasingly,
Millennials are becoming an important part of that market as they embrace hobbies
like gardening, according to Jennifer
Mapes-Christ, manager of the consumer and commercial products team at The
Freedonia Group. About 20 percent of consumers, ages 18 to 34, report gardening
is one of their hobbies.
“With the rise of community gardens and community-supported agriculture, this group is interested in specialty gardening with heirloom seeds and gardening as a craft using specialty tools and taking care to create something unique,” Mapes-Christ said in a news statement.
Historically Gardenio’s business model worked
by customers going to the website and ordering a grow box, a live organic
plant, and the company sends them soil that is matched to the plant they are
growing and a care guide that goes with that.
Now, Gardenio is shifting
to a membership model and through the fall, it is taking pre-orders to launch.
“We will send you
plant food in the amount you need it. Most people don’t know you have to feed
your plants let alone knowing when to feed it,” Gonzalez said.
Gardenio is also
launching Infinite lives so if a paying Gardenio member has a plant die for any
reason – Gardenio will send a replacement plant.
“Gardeners grow,”
Gonzalez said. “You don’t just do it once.”
Gardenio’s next big
milestone is to have over 250 pre-order memberships and 5,000 people on its
waitlist, Gonzalez said.
Gardenio was also a
finalist in the startup category for a Mosaic Award, which celebrates diversity
and inclusion in Austin’s startup community. The company competed against much
larger ventures like Data.World, Aceable and Squareroot and The Riveter, which
won the award.
“We’re this scrappy little team making waves,” Gonzalez said. “With very little resources we’ve been able to make some waves.”
Gardenio sees its competition
as Home Depot, Lowe’s and other big box stores, which control 64 percent of the
market for gardening plants and supplies.
“We’re not about
giving you a million tomatoes we are about giving you the experience of having
a relationship with a plant,” Gonzalez said.
Andrew Escher bought a large mint plant and got a small holy
basil plant from Gardenio as a gift. He has both sitting on his porch still.
He likes Gardenio and would recommend it to a friend.
“They help me build confidence in my gardening ability, saved me
time and mental energy to get things set up and I like the idea of growing my
own food and herbs in the long run,” Escher said.
Gardenio addresses a big existential problem today, said Barnes, an investor.
”They say, “we are what
we eat…” but if we don’t really know what we eat, can we really know who we
are?” Barnes said.
Ever wonder what’s going on underwater when you’re fishing?
That’s what piqued Brandon Austin’s interest. He grew up fishing in Canada and Costa Rica and he always wanted to know what was happening in the water. So, he created a company to find out and became flounder of GoFish Cam.
“Growing up fishing, always like everyone else who has ever held
a rod in their hands, I wondered what was going on underwater,” Austin said.
GoFish Cam is a small cylindrical wireless underwater video camera
that sits on a fishing line near the lure and works with a mobile app and allows
anglers to have a fish-eye view of the water.
“It’s become a great tool that every time you reel in, you have some insight into what’s going on,” Austin said.
Founded in 2015, GoFish Cam raised $750,000, according to
CrunchBase. It was part of the Central Texas Angel Network’s portfolio as well
as a member of Capital Factory’s accelerator program. Capital Factory also
invested in the startup.
In March of 2018, Unorthodox Ventures acquired GoFish Cam
and brought the organization inside its offices. That’s when Adam Kahn, sheepshead
of operations and a member of Unorthodox Ventures’ The Kitchen, joined GoFish
Cam to bring the product to an even larger market.
On this episode of the Ideas to Invoices podcast, Austin and
Kahn talk about how customers are using the camera and plans for market
expansion.
Early on, GoFish Cam effectively used crowdfunding to get
its customers engaged early on and to raise money to manufacture the product.
The company raised $101,000 from 563 backers during a 2015 Kickstarter project
and $120,189 from 631 backers in 2017 from an IndieGoGo campaign.
In addition to anglers, the U.S. Navy Seals began using the GoFish
Cam cameras for underwater research, Austin said. Other marine researchers also
use the cameras, he said.
“That just shows you a cool part of the entrepreneurial journey, you develop your product for one use case and out of nowhere you find out that you accidentally developed it for something else,” Austin said.
The cameras have captured some amazing underwater footage
and GoFish Cam has posted some of them to its YouTube channel on its website.
AfterShokz, which makes sports headphones that transmit sound via bone conduction, announced this week that it is moving its headquarters from New York to Austin.
The company is currently working out of WeWork University Park and plans to move to Domain Place, 10727 Domain Drive, in March of next year. AfterShokz plans to rent the second floor of the building.
AfterShokz, founded in
2011, plans to have 40 people by the end of the year and to more than double to
85 by the end of 2021.
Opportunity Austin, the Greater Austin Chamber’s five-county prosperity initiative, worked with AfterShokz on the relocation.
“Opportunity Austin is pleased
that AfterShokz has chosen to relocate its corporate headquarters to Austin,” Austin Chamber Senior Vice President, Economic Development Charisse
Bodisch said in a news release. “Job creators continue to see our region
as an ideal location to find the talent, innovation, and collaborative
community that will help them grow and thrive. The addition of 85 jobs over the
next three years is another win for our community and the people who continue
to look for opportunity and prosperity in the region.”
AfterShokz’s sports headphones are sold on Amazon and in 15,000 stores worldwide. The company sold 1.5 million wireless headphones in 2018.
“AfterShokz is a fast-growing company, and we needed to find a city for our corporate headquarters that could support the expansion of our brand,” Kimberly Fassetta, CMO, AfterShokz, said in a news release. “Austin’s energy, culture, talent pool and community of leading technology innovators and thriving outdoor brands are what drew us to the city.”
ICON, an Austin-based startup that makes large scale 3-D Printers to build homes, has a solution.
The company this week unveiled a 3D printed Welcome Center in partnership with Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter to Austin’s homeless population.
ICON constructed the 500 square foot building in less than 27 hours, according to the company. It used one of ICON’s Vulcan II printers, which the company unveiled during South by Southwest at its corporate headquarters last March. Cielo Property Group commissioned the printer to print affordable housing in Austin.
The building is part of Mobile Loaves & Fishes Phase II development for Community First! Village, which rents affordable homes to men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. The next phase adds 24 acres to the development, which now totals 51 acres, which will have a total of 500 homes.
ICON plans to break ground on six more 3D printed homes for the development by the end of the year.
ICON, the construction technologies company shifting the paradigm of homebuilding using robotics, software and advanced materials, partnered with Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF), the Austin non-profit widely known for its compassionate service to the area’s homeless community.
Did you know communications is one
of the top skills gaps in Austin, according to LinkedIn? And Social Media is
also in the top 10.
ContentATX, a third annual conference put on by Silicon Hills News, can help close the gap on those skills for creatives, startups, entrepreneurs and other businesses. The fun, day-long conference will teach new ways to communicate and provide an opportunity to network with some of the best in the business in Austin.
Lyn Graft, author of Start with Story and founder of Storytelling for Entrepreneurs, will kick off the event in the morning with an hour-long talk providing tips people can use to create better stories. He has interviewed more than 500 of the top entrepreneurs in the world including Starbucks, Whole Foods, LinkedIn, Paul Mitchell, Dropbox, Zappos, and The Knot. He’s also an entrepreneur who has started eight ventures and organizations. His ventures have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Inc. Magazine. He’s raised more than $10 million and generated millions in revenue for his companies in the last two decades. And through all his ventures, he has discovered “Your story is your power.”
“Story runs through the very fabric
of everything we do as entrepreneurs, whether we realize it or not,” Graft
writes. “It is used in every facet of your business-from getting press, to
fundraising, to closing sales, to recruiting people to work for you for free,
to getting a partner to help you launch a start-up or convincing your spouse to
let you take out all the savings to chase your dream.”
Graft is also hosting a “Create Your Story” workshop on Sept. 30th to Oct. 1st at the Hickory House in Barton Springs. That workshop, which has limited tickets, is designed specifically for founders that want help creating and telling their story.
In addition to Lyn Graft, the event features Rusty Kocian, a designer at argodesign, presenting on Designing for Love.
And Thom Singer, a professional speaker
and host of the podcast: Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do, will provide insights on
adventures in podcasting. He has been podcasting for more than 5 years and has
created more than 500 episodes.
Michelle Breyer and Jim Spencer will
talk about creating new media startups and media innovation in Austin. Both have
had successful exits from media companies they created. Breyer co-founded Texture
Media which recently sold to Essence Magazine. Spencer founded Newsy, which E.W.
Scripps Company acquired for $35 million in 2014.
Other speakers include Joshua Lee,
founder of StandOutAuthority, Jane Ko, creator of a Taste of Koko, Brittany
Daniels, YouTube Expert, Noelle Buhidar, host of RetailMeNot’s The Real Deal,
Geoffrey Brown, social media expert with Go Daddy and Daniel Sandoval, a consultant with
Austin-based Greenleaf Book Publishing, an independent publisher and
distributor dedicated to empowering authors
Only three last-minute tickets and one sponsorship still available on Eventbrite. See you on Saturday!
This month marks the start of Fall and that so far is just a date on the calendar as 90 plus degree days continue to be the norm. That’s about 10 degrees higher than normal, according to local metrologists.
But alas as Fall approaches, Austin’s startup activities also heat up. This month features Silicon Hills News’ third annual ContentATX event at Galvanize on Sept. 14th focused on storytelling for entrepreneurs and content creators. Only a few tickets remain.
And later on, is one of the all-time favorite events – Austin Startup Week. Silicon Hills News covered the first one in 2011 as the OG tech media news startup in Austin and we’ll be there to cover this year’s stellar lineup of events also. We love September because it’s also the month we launched eight years ago – when Austin’s technology community was much smaller.
And for those interested in Austin’s growing Space industry, check out our event: SpaceATX on Nov. 6th at the Blanton Auditorium. We’re having a flash sale this weekend only for $5 tickets to the event. If you haven’t kept pace with the space news, this is the event to get caught up on what’s happening in this growing industry in Austin and Texas overall. Also, NASA announced recently that it is opening the International Space Station for commercial space travel, according to Business Insider. And a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization called Open Lunar Foundation made up of tech executives and engineers – some with former ties to NASA, announced its plans to establish a colony on the moon, according to an article in Bloomberg.
Sept. 9th
Austin Fast Start: Mobility Innovation Pitch Event
When: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Austin Central Library, 710 W. Cesar
Chavez St., Austin, TX
Why: The Austin Young Chamber hosts Austin Fast Start, a pitch competition with a purpose. Every quarter, we will hear from a new industry and award an unrestricted cash prize and other opportunities to turn these dreams into realities. This quarter is Mobility Innovation. For more info.
Sept. 9th
CoFounder Meetup with William Hurley, aka Whurley
When: 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: Capital Factory – Voltron Room, 701 Brazos St Austin, TX
Why: This monthly meetup features networking and a keynote talk by Whurley. For more info.
Sept. 11
Startup Grind Austin Featuring Ryan Merket, Partner at Firebrand Ventures
When: 6 p.m
Where: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos St., Austin, TX
Why: For its Fireside Chat, Startup Grind Austin welcome Ryan Merket to the stage in September! Ryan is a Partner at Firebrand Ventures, a seed-stage VC firm, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and previously held key roles at Facebook, Reddit, and Amazon. For more info.
Sept. 12th
Austin Tech Happy Hour
When: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Dogwood Rock Rose, 11420 Rock Rose Ave #130, Austin, TX
Why: This is Austin’s oldest continuous tech happy hour and it features great networking with Austin’s tech community. For more info.
Sept. 14th
ContentATX3
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Galvanize, 119 Nueces Street., Austin, TX
Why: Silicon Hills News is hosting its third annual conference on storytelling for entrepreneurs and content creators. For more info.
Sept. 14th
2019 Austin Blockchain Conference
When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Engineering
Education and Research Center (EER)
2501 Speedway, Austin, TX
Why: Texas Blockchain and the McCombs Blockchain Initiative invites you to attend The 2019 Texas Blockchain Summit hosted on campus at UT Austin. The focus of this conference is to showcase the work happening in the blockchain space here at UT Austin, the surrounding area, and industry as a whole. We are excited to bring together great minds to highlight the rapid innovation being done in academia, startups, and enterprise. For more info.
Sept. 16th
Social
Global Austin Pitch Event
When: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos St., Austin, TX
Where: Reset@Tillary Kitchen and Bar, 3201 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX
Why: In true Austin style, we’re bringing together our community of entrepreneurs and adding some fun to your workday. Make Tuesday more awesome – come enjoy a day of working, meeting new entrepreneurs, and connecting over some local, Austin eats. For more info.
Sept. 17th
Data,
Privacy, Freedom & Ethics Debate
When: 6:15 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Austin Central Library, 710 W. Cesar
Chavez St., Austin, TX
Why: Austin Forum: “Our world is increasingly digital and connected, and data is being produced at extraordinary, exponentially increasing rates. As a result, data analytics and artificial intelligence are enabling improvements in everything from product design to business operations, from customer experiences to civic engagement.” For more info.
Sept. 17th
Powerup
Talk with Evan Loomis of ICON
When: 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Where: Capital Factory, Voltron Room, 701 Brazos St. Austin, TXW
Why: Hugh Forrest of SXSW talks with Evan Loomis, one of ICON’s co-founders, about its revolutionary 3D printing approach to housing that is affordably-priced and changing the paradigm of home construction. Loomis will also share insights from his entrepreneurial journey. For more info.
Sept. 19th
Zuora’s
Subscribed Austin Tour
When: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Driskill Hotel, 150-172 Old Pecan St., Austin, TX
Why: Subscribed is where the Subscription Economy comes to life with real-world examples and practical guidance for companies to get ahead in the age of digital disruption. For more info.
Sept. 19-21st
Creatives
Meet Business Experience
When: 8 a.m.
Where: Springdale General, 1023 Springdale Rd, Austin,
TX
Why: A three-day conference centered around learning and connecting for artists, creatives, freelancers, and small business owners. For more info.
Sept. 22-26th
Austin
Startup Week
When: Kicks off Sunday with Youth Entrepreneurship
Day
Where: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos St., Austin, TX
Why: A packed scheduled of all kinds of events related to the startup scene in Austin. For more info.
Facebook officials and invited dignitaries dedicating the new Austin office
Facebook put a high-tech twist on the old tradition of a ribbon-cutting.
The tech giant lit up a giant Facebook thumbs-up Like
button with local dignitaries to officially open its new office in downtown Austin
Wednesday morning.
“Thank you to our community partners. I hope you know
we are as invested in this community as we are in this building, and we can’t
wait to continue to grow our relationship with all of you, here in Austin ” said
Katherine Shappley, Facebook’s Austin Head of Office.
At the event, Shappley spoke along with Mayor Steve Adler, Texas State Senator Kirk Watson, and Austin Community College President Richard Rhodes. A few hundred people attended the ceremony.
“I want you to know that
this city loves Facebook,” Mayor Adler said. “And I love this space.”
Mayor Steve Adler speaking at the opening of Facebook’s new Austin office
Facebook’s space is about
so many things that are important in Austin including technology, creativity,
innovation, and taking risks, Adler said. It’s also focused on community and
fostering connections, he said.
Also, at the event, Austin Community College and
Facebook announced a partnership for new digital marketing courses at ACC.
“We are so excited to be a partner with Facebook,” said Rhodes, ACC President, and CEO. Facebook pledged $60,000 for the program.
“It really paves the way. It removes the roadblocks
and allows students, entrepreneurs, young businesses to access this service and
to get the digital marketing skills necessary,” Rhodes said.
Austin Community College President Richard Rhodes
Classes on social media marketing and digital media
strategy at ACC start October 14 and are offered through the college’s
continuing education division. The program is part of Facebook’s pledge to train
one million people and small businesses across the U.S. in digital skills by
2020.
After the formal part of the new office dedication. Facebook provided tours of its new office, which are hip, filled with natural light, open, and decorated with unique artwork done by local artists.
On the 15th floor, Facebook set up formal information stations on topics such as data for good, stories, town hall, Instagram and more.
Facebook also has a giant “What’s on Your Mind?” white-board
wall for employees to write on. The non-digital communications platform
featured all kinds of comments like “Justin + Chloe, Def Leppard Rocks, Jasmine
was here and where’s the snacks.”
Facebook Austin’s Wall
Another board advertised amenities such as massages on the 24th floor, a cyclist on the 6th, plant tonics on 10th, and Goga Yoga on 17th.
Facebook occupies 256,500 square feet or 11 floors of
a new skyscraper at 607 W. 3rd St. It’s part of a bustling tech hub in the
Second Street District which has seen several new skyscrapers open in the past
three years including Galvanize’s building a block away, followed by Google’s
headquarters on the next block.
In 2014, Facebook held a small business training
seminar at the Austin Music Hall, which was demolished a few years ago to make
way for the tech skyscrapers that occupy the space today.
And in the age of digital everything, it’s kind of fun
to see two tech giants communicate with each other using post-it notes.
Post-It Note Art on a window in Facebook’s Austin office
With yellow post-it notes, the workers at Facebook posted a dinosaur and a Sup G? message on the floor to ceiling windows facing their friends who work at Google in the skyscraper across the way. Google posted a duck with the message What’s quacken FB?
The Facebook space, which spans floors 14 to 24, can accommodate up to 1,550 employees. Facebook currently has 1,200 employees in Austin. The Austin office is Facebook’s fourth-largest office in the country.
Just like the Austin technology community, Facebook
has seen dramatic growth in its business. Facebook opened its first Austin
office in May of 2010 with just seven employees.
One of the kitchens in Facebook’s new Austin office
The Austin office has all kinds of amenities to keep tech workers happy including three full service kitchens, ten outdoor decks and terraces, ten micro-kitchens, a fitness center with locker rooms, bike storage, a pop up local shop for Austin vendors to sell products to employees, a recreation room, library, and a music room with keyboard, drums, guitars and more. Facebook also has its own laundry service for employees and a mailing center on-site.
Facebook’s offices feature 14 art installations from its
Artist in Residence program.
On the 15th floor, Artist Dennis McNett created “Golden Eagle, Grandmother Medicine,” a magnificent wall-sized mixed media mural. In mythology, the golden eagle is supposed to carry the medicine of integrity, McNett said.
Artist Dennis McNett created “Golden Eagle, Grandmother Medicine” on display on the 15th floor of Facebook’s new office
Ben Lamm, CEO and Co-Founder of Hypergiant Industries
Hypergiant Industries has created a smart helmet prototype designed to keep the military, police, firefighters and other first responders safe.
The space-age helmet,
called Project Orion, comes equipped with night vision, infrared, thermal
imaging and more. Its display screen also provides users with all kinds of
information that might be useful in an emergency.
“I’ve been long focused on improving the
safety of members of our military,” Hypergiant Industries CEO Ben Lamm said in
a news statement. “For years, I’ve patented products to help improve the lives
of people fighting for our country. Project Orion is, in my opinion, our best
product yet, specifically designed to ensure that soldiers and those entering
dangerous environments have the tools needed to be kept safe.”
The lightweight helmet
is like Google Glass on steroids. It uses augmented reality information overlay
and its core function is “to provide shape and object classification and detection,
as well as masking and highlight,” according to a news release.
The helmet’s features
include 5k resolutions with 200-degree field of vision, high resolution
binocular optical input, multiple spectrum sensor arrays including infrared,
night-vision, thermal, etc. It has multiple display modes, and features hand
tracking and gesture-based input and it can stream video.
The helmet also collects
information from mounted sensors and networked data sources. It can integrate
with external data sources including GPS data, mission briefing, and more.
“In times of stress and when lives are on the
line, more data is not helpful. What is most helpful is decision-quality
integrated information presented at the right place, at the right time. The
results could mean more lives saved and mission accomplished!” Lance Lord, a retired
four star general and Hypergiant Industries advisory board member, said in a
news release. “Hypergiant Industries’ system will match integrated situational
information to a decision-maker’s cognitive framework needs. This type of
leading-edge technology is what we need to continue to push safety and
innovation boundaries.”
The prototype helmet
is being considered for development next year.
Founded in 2018, Hypergiant
Industries has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Seattle and Washington, DC.
Bazaarvoice announced last week that it has acquired Influenster, a product discovery and review platform with nearly six million community members.
Austin-based Bazaarvoice said the combined company will give it even wider reach with retailer websites. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Bazaarvoice, founded in 2005 by Brett Hurt, works with more than 6,000 global brands and retailer websites, to foster word of mouth advertising through user-generated content.
Influenster’s community members
have “written more than 38 million product reviews, and continue to create more
than 50,000 pieces of content every day – including photos, videos, and
Q&A.,” according to a news release.
Influenster’s customers include
Coty, and Procter & Gamble Brands that run product sampling campaigns,
generate and license organic review and social content, and build brand
awareness.
“The
decision to join forces with Influenster underscores Bazaarvoice’s commitment
to connecting brands with consumers and consumers with one another through user-generated
content,” Joe Davis, CEO of Bazaarvoice said in a news release. “Influenster’s
product sampling and review generation offerings further strengthen our core
product ratings and reviews solutions, and their hyper-targeting and
gamification capabilities will allow us to better support our customers’
broader marketing initiatives. We’re excited to partner with a company that
shares our belief in the power of the everyday consumer.”
“Our
vision has always been to empower today’s consumers to be the trusted voice when
it comes to product experiences and recommendations. Bazaarvoice shares a
similar mission, making them an ideal partner,” Elizabeth Scherle, president
and co-founder of Influenster, said in a news release. “Since launching
Influenster nine years ago, we’ve innovated to meet the changing needs of
shoppers as the retail, e-commerce, and social media landscapes evolve. Through
this acquisition, we’re excited to continue our growth by developing new
capabilities and connecting our highly-motivated community with thousands of brands
and more than a billion shoppers in the Bazaarvoice Network.”
Headquartered in New York City, Influenster was founded by Scherle and Aydin Acar in 2010. Influenster’s 75 employees will join Bazaarvoice’s 750 employees, according to a MediaPost story.
