TrustRadius, the most trusted customer review platform for B2B technology, today announced a $12.5 million Series C funding led by Next Coast Ventures with continued participation by returning investors the Mayfield Fund and LiveOak Ventures. This round brings the company’s total equity financing to $25 million. The financing will further accelerate the company’s efforts to scale all teams to capitalize on the rapid adoption of customer reviews as part of the enterprise technology buying process, with a focus on sales and engineering.
“I founded TrustRadius because I experienced first hand the consequences of making the wrong technology selection, and witnessed how difficult it was for our team to conduct effective due diligence with resources like analyst reports and vendor driven references and case studies. Business technology buyers want the whole truth before they buy. They want to hear from people who face the same challenges – their peers in similar companies. We’re experiencing rapid acceleration in the adoption of customer reviews in B2B mirroring what’s already occurred in B2C. We wanted to partner with an investor that understood this trend – has invested in the consumer review space and enterprise software – and could both guide and fuel our next phase of growth,” said Vinay Bhagat, founder and chief executive officer of TrustRadius.
User reviews are the second most used source of information in B2B purchasing. 56% of B2B buyers use reviews as a key resource while fewer than 25% of buyers rely on analysts. TrustRadius is the most trusted customer review platform for business technology. Optimized for complex purchase decisions, TrustRadius’s in-depth reviews – averaging 5x the length of other sites – clarify product differences, describe use cases, and comprehensively discuss their pros and cons. As a result, TrustRadius helps software buyers make informed purchase decisions with no regrets.
“As a company that sells to both individual consumers and IT buyers, peer insights have become an integral part of today’s economic cycle for technology,” said Bill Wagner, CEO of TrustRadius customer LogMeIn. “Software buyers today want to see detailed reviews from existing users to help them make their purchase decisions. TrustRadius is empowering the modern buyer to make confident decisions about enterprise-grade software.”
TrustRadius helps many of the world’s leading tech companies like LogMeIn, TIBCO, and Solarwinds garner in-depth customer insights, market to high-intent buyers, and generate trusted customer testimony that informs buyers about product differentiation and engenders trust. Reviews are hosted both on TrustRadius and are syndicated to vendors’ own sales and marketing channels to improve conversion and accelerate purchase.
“Enterprise software is a nearly half a trillion dollar industry with high-quality, trusted reviews becoming one of the most effective tools for capturing market share, and NCV’s market research with major players in the software industry confirmed TrustRadius has the highest caliber reviews in the industry,” said Thomas Ball, co-founder and managing director of Next Coast Ventures who will be joining TrustRadius’ board as part of the firm’s investment. “I’ve had the pleasure to work with both Vinay and co-founder Scott Miller so I have seen firsthand their relentless focus on the customer and their unwillingness to compromise on quality, and I am thrilled to have the chance to work with them again as they expand their footprint on the ground in Austin.”
TrustRadius recently added Jennifer Griffin to its team as the head of customer success, whose excellent track record at Austin-based Bazaarvoice and Dosh are a testament to the company’s focus on the customer and investing in the Austin ecosystem. The company currently has 59 employees and plans to double in size through 2020 as the company grows recurring revenue by 223% and more than triple its customer base.
About TrustRadius
TrustRadius is the most trusted platform for software and technology reviews. TrustRadius helps technology buyers make confident decisions with in-depth reviews and ratings from real users. TrustRadius also helps vendors influence the market conversation, target the right buyers, and accelerate sales and marketing by putting their customer’s voice to work. Headquartered in Austin, TX, TrustRadius was founded by successful entrepreneurs and is backed by Next Coast Ventures, Mayfield Fund, and LiveOak Venture Partners.
About Next Coast Ventures
Next Coast Ventures is an Austin venture capital firm that partners with bold entrepreneurs building innovative companies in big markets. It provides early-stage capital to high-growth startups in ‘Next Coast’ markets, using macro trends and themes to guide their investment strategy. In partnering with Next Coast, the fund provides hands-on, company building resources to its growing portfolio through its strong industry network, Entrepreneurs Council program and the founders’ own experiences as entrepreneurs.