Live Chat Solutions Company Secures Series C Financing
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- inQ, the world leader in outsourced online live chat sales solutions, today announced the closing of $7.75 million Series C round of funding led by new investors Emergence Capital and Partech International, as well as from existing investors Dolphin Equity Partners, Hudson Ventures and Vertrue. As part of the funding, both Jason Green of Emergence Capital and Vincent Worms of Partech International will join inQ's Board of Directors.
"inQ is delivering remarkable results for their customers and is being rapidly adopted by the leading consumer brands in the world," said Jason Green, general partner at Emergence Capital. "inQ has an opportunity to help companies with a Web presence monetize their traffic with no upfront commitment, zero risk and performance based pricing. inQ is on track to become a very significant player in the world of e-commerce, and we are thrilled to be partnering with this exciting team and opportunity." Bernard Louvat, president and CEO of inQ, commented, "This new funding will help enhance our leading-edge live chat and chat-to-phone technology platform, as well as our outsourced online sales operations infrastructure to increase our leadership position within the rapidly growing pro-active live chat solutions market. Our fully outsourced three-tiered live chat sales solution makes for a very successful partnership with our Fortune 1000 clients. Our performance based pricing aligns us with our clients' interests and takes the risk out of the implementation for them, while maximizing their revenue impact." "For an interactive marketer, driving sales is no longer simply a function of driving traffic to your e-commerce site," said Vincent Worms, co-founder and managing partner of Partech International. "Marketers increasingly rely on companies, like inQ, to efficiently convert the prospective customers visiting their site. The inQ technology helps marketers recognize promising leads on a Website and provide them with the assistance they need to complete a purchase. The results have been impressive: marketers consistently see in excess of 20 percent revenue lift after implementing inQ's service." About inQ Founded in 1999, inQ is the world leader in outsourced live chat solutions. Our live chat solution humanizes the online experience by engaging with targeted online shoppers and replicates a quality in-store experience. By utilizing state-of-the-art proprietary technology as well as trained and experienced online sales representatives, inQ offers solutions that are completely customized to meet the client's specific needs and than can increase clients' overall online revenue as much as 30% in 90 days. inQ pricing is performance based. inQ is working with companies in the telecom, cable, retail, travel, media , and financial services industries. More information can be found by visiting http://www.inq.com/ .
About Emergence Capital Partners Emergence Capital Partners is a leading, west coast, early and growth-stage venture capital firm focused on Technology-Enabled Services ("TES") investing. Our mission is to help build market leading, technology-enabled service businesses in partnership with great entrepreneurs and teams. Our partners have funded and helped build over 30 TES companies such as Salesforce.com, DoubleClick, aQuantive, WebTV, AskJeeves, and SuccessFactors among others -- more than any other early-stage venture firm. Having assessed thousands of companies in the TES sector, Emergence has developed significant expertise and resources focused on the critical factors of success in this market. Our focus and team-based approach allow us to create unique value for our service-based portfolio companies. For more information please visit http://www.emcap.com/ .
About Partech International Founded in 1982, Partech International is a leading global venture capital firm with $850M under management and offices in the U.S., Europe and Israel. Partech invests exclusively in Information Technology and the firm's internationally integrated team of investing partners work together closely to find the most innovative companies demonstrating high return potential and disruptive technologies in the Software & Internet, Communications & Components and Healthcare IT sectors. Partech has a unique 20+ year track record assisting its portfolio companies to become global market leaders. To learn more go to http://www.partechvc.com/ .
About Dolphin Equity Partners Dolphin Equity Partners specializes in investments in private communications companies operating in the U.S. and abroad. Located in New York, Dolphin currently manages over $340 million in capital. Dolphin seeks to obtain significant equity positions in early and expansion stage companies with the potential for substantial growth in new or emerging communications technologies, software and services. Since 1998, Dolphin has been shaping the future of communications through highly selective investing, and through the strategic direction they provide to the management of their portfolio companies. For more information please visit http://www.dolphinequity.com/ .
About Hudson Ventures Hudson Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund focusing on enterprise software & services, new media, wireless and security technologies, with an emphasis on financial services and online marketing technologies. Hudson Ventures manages over $170 million and since its formation in 1996 has invested in over 40 technology companies, most of which are located in the northeast between Massachusetts and Virginia. Hudson's partners have decades of operating experience and are actively involved in their portfolio companies' operations. Some of Hudson's successful exits include: Guardent (sold to Verisign), webMethods (IPO), Pathlight Technologies (sold to Advanced Digital Information Corp.), i-Traffic (sold to Agency.com), and TechRx (sold to NDC Health). For more information please visit http://www.hudsonventures.com/ .
About Vertrue Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., Vertrue Incorporated (NASDAQ:VTRU) is a category leader in both membership and loyalty programs, bringing value direct to consumers through an array of benefits in healthcare, discounts, security and personals. With broad online and offline distribution capabilities, Vertrue offers its corporate client partners effective tools to enhance market presence, strengthen customer affinity and generate additional value. For more information pleased visit http://www.vertrue.com/ . DATASOURCE: inQ and Partech International CONTACT: Denise Welch of Dotted Line Communications, +1-617-269-5969, or , for inQ; or Steve Kaufman of New Venture Communications, +1-408-436-0774, or , for inQ Web site: http://www.inq.com/ http://www.emcap.com/ http://www.partechvc.com/ http://www.dolphinequity.com/ http://www.hudsonventures.com/ http://www.vertrue.com/
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