Contact Networks Raises $1.6M in First Round Financing
March 21 2005 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Contact Networks Raises $1.6M in First Round Financing Private
Investors Include Search Industry Veterans BOSTON, March 21
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Contact Networks
(http://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
http://www.contactnetworks.com/ or call 617.305.7961. Contact: Lisa
Allocca Red Javelin Communications, Inc. (978) 470-2227
http://www.redjavelin.com/ DATASOURCE: Contact Networks Contact:
Lisa Allocca of Red Javelin Communications, Inc., +1-978-470-2227,
Web site: http://www.contactnetworks.com/
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