We were delighted to see that friend of Minnov8, Lief Larson and crew, have landed $900k to accelerate their vision of delivering a platform to maximize sales force and customer service engagement for organizations.
The Gang has used Workface’ profiles since the beginning and have watched this startup closely as they’ve continued to execute on their vision.
From their press release:
More than 75,000 professionals and over 2,500 different companies are now using Workface technology to enable their sales and customer service staffs to engage with prospects and customers online and in real time.
“Our ‘profile’ technology helps companies shorten sales cycles, connect with prospects at the moment of interest, and increase the level of engagement and intimacy with customers,” said Lief Larson, Workface founder and CEO. “This new round of capital will help us grow revenue from existing customers, add new customers and focus on several key platform enhancements.”
Congrats Lief and crew! See the full press release below…
WORKFACE LANDS ROUND OF VENTURE CAPITAL,
EXPANDS ON EFFORTS TO HUMANIZE INTERNET COMMERCE
Series A-1 financing brings total funds raised to more than $2.5 million to date
Minneapolis, July 26, 2011—Workface®, a pioneer in innovative online customer-interaction technology that helps companies market, sell and support their products and services, today announced it has raised more than $900,000 in new financing. Participating investors in the Series A-1 financing include Arthur Ventures and Omphalos Ventures.
Since its incorporation in 2007, Workface has raised over $2.5 million from its founders, private equity funds, angel investors and venture capital.
More than 75,000 professionals and over 2,500 different companies are now using Workface technology to enable their sales and customer service staffs to engage with prospects and customers online and in real time.
“Our ‘profile’ technology helps companies shorten sales cycles, connect with prospects at the moment of interest, and increase the level of engagement and intimacy with customers,” said Lief Larson, Workface founder and CEO. “This new round of capital will help us grow revenue from existing customers, add new customers and focus on several key platform enhancements.”
In 2007, Workface first launched its customer-engagement technology, one of the first examples how the Web can be used to interface with customers in real time. Sales staff and other customer-facing professionals create a Workface web profile that is readily visible and accessible by potential customers.
Through search engines, social media networks, rich social ads and corporate websites, prospects find these interactive profiles. Here, they can engage in a live text, audio and video chat with sales and service staff. Companies that want to promote their products and services outfit their sales staff with Workface profiles because a meaningful online interaction is more likely to lead to a face-to-face sales meeting.
About Workface
Workface Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., is a technology company that helps other companies market their products and services by promoting their employees’ expertise and helping their staff engage with prospects online and in real time. Its customer-engagement platform enables sales and service professionals to create interactive profiles wherein they can chat with sales prospects and move them to the next stage in the buying process. More than 75,000 professionals in over 2,500 different companies are now using Workface technology.
About Arthur Ventures
Arthur Ventures is a venture capital fund that seeks investment opportunities in seed and early stage technology companies in the upper midwest region. The firm was co-founded by Doug Burgum, former senior VP of Microsoft Business Solutions and CEO of Great Plains Software. For more information, go to www.arthurventures.com.
About Omphalos Venture Partners
Omphalos Venture Partners works with founders and entrepreneurial management teams who aspire to achieve excellence. The firm is actively seeking investment opportunities in privately held, U.S.-based, early stage consumer, health care and information technology companies. For more information, visit www.omphalosventures.com.