Contact Networks Raises $1.6M in First Round Financing
Private Investors include Search Industry Veterans
Boston, MA -- March 21, 2005 -- Contact
Networks (www.contactnetworks.com),
a leading next generation enterprise search company, announced today
the closing of its Series A funding. The financing round came from
individual and institutional investors and includes the founders and
management of the successful search technologies TripAdvisor
(acquired by Interactive Corp, NASDAQ:IACI) and Direct Hit (acquired
by AskJeeves, NASDAQ:ASKJ). The funding will be used to expand the
sales, marketing, and support teams and to accelerate Contact
Networks' ability to enter new markets.
Contact Networks provides an innovative and specialized form of
search called Enterprise Relationship Search that helps employees
answer the common question "who knows whom..." in the corporate
setting. Relationships win business and Contact Networks finds
important business relationships that already exist within a
company. It helps people take advantage of friendships, enabling them
to see hidden connections two or three degrees away in order to find
new clients or establish new sales.
"Enterprise Relationship Search is emerging as a business
application that drives revenue growth," said Geoffrey Hyatt, CEO of
Contact Networks. "If you are responsible for sales, client
development or business development, you want more and better
relationships with your prospects. Discovering a colleague down the
hall or across the country who can make that initial introduction
helps to access and win that account."
Search Industry Veterans Invest
Additionally, investor Langley Steinert, Chairman and co-founder
of TripAdvisor, will join the Board of Advisors at Contact
Networks. Prior to co-founding TripAdvisor, Steinert was VP of
Marketing and Business Development at the Internet commerce tools
company Viaweb (acquired by Yahoo!). Additional investors include
Stephen Kaufer, CEO and co-founder of TripAdvisor, David Parker, CEO
of DigitalAdvisor and VP of Business Development of DirectHit and
several institutional investors.
"Enterprise search is a critical need in the corporate world. While
consumers turn to Google and Yahoo for answers from the web, corporate
employees also want to mine the useful resources of their own
company," remarked investor Langley Steinert. "For sales and business
development, it is critical for employees to leverage the existing
relationships their colleagues already possess. Closing just one or
two additional deals solidifies the ROI for an application like
Contact Networks."
About Contact Networks
Contact Networks is a leading provider of next generation
enterprise search solutions. The application enables an organization
to efficiently access and utilize the relationships that employees
have to outside contacts and companies. Sales and client development
teams discover introductions to target accounts that help win the
deal. For more information about Boston-based Contact Networks, visit
www.contactnetworks.com
or call 617.305.7961.
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