In case you missed the announcement last week, I’m happy to share the news that STELLAService has raised an additional $5 million in funding to keep you in the know when it comes to companies with great (and not so great) customer service.
The funding was co-led by Battery Ventures and DFJ Gotham Ventures and also included RRE Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, and angels Jay Weintraub and Will Thomas. We’re thrilled to have such a terrific, top-tier group of investors behind us.
It’s been an amazing eight months since we announced our first round of funding. Our team has worked around the clock to produce customer service ratings and data on thousands of companies, and we hope you’ve been able to benefit from the guidance and direction our customer service analysts (i.e. “mystery shoppers on steroids”) have allowed us to provide. Our data and insights have been featured in nearly every major media outlet, from Forbes to NBC, in an effort to get the message out around the service performance of America’s leading companies – we believe every online consumer will benefit as a result.
Meanwhile, the most customer-focused businesses are proudly displaying the STELLAService seal, which has rapidly become the Web’s most trusted signal of sites with great service. From larger businesses like 1800Contacts to smaller, up-and-coming stores like Stock ‘N Go, companies are deriving significant value in displaying the seal as it remains the only objective, meaningful signal that separates their businesses from the herd of competitors who don’t go the extra mile for customers (it should be noted that more than half of the retailers we evaluate do not make the cut to display this award).
We’re only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the information and data we plan to make available on the service quality of each company. This new round of funding will help us accelerate the launch of some exciting new features and products that will give you an even closer, more detailed view of the service performance of each business. Stay tuned on our blog, Twitter and Facebook page for the latest.
Everything we do at STELLA is based around our mission to create a world with better customer service. It’s a simple mission, as good customer service is something all of us need and deserve. I’m proud to be working with such an awesome team, and none of us could be more excited to continue full-steam-ahead on this enormous opportunity.
Onward and upward!
I recently sat down with Columbia University’s Dave Lerner to talk about how and why John and I started STELLAService. We also touched on life as an entrepreneur in New York City, raising venture capital and what it really takes to evaluate the customer service quality of thousands of online retailers.
Check it out on the Huffington Post, or just watch below:
If you want to see amazing robotics at work look no further than the 2 minute clip below, which is a glimpse into the warehouse of…diapers.com? Believe it or not the site is an e-retail giant, expected to bring in more than $300 million in revenues this year selling baby supplies to busy parents throughout the country. The company has built a loyal following by providing excellent customer service, selection and free overnight shipping on most products. One of their impressive competitive advantages lies in the inventory management and packaging systems they designed and utilize:
Now the co-founders of the company have set their sites on bringing convenience to everyone (not just parents) with the planned launch of Soap.com this July. The site will carry more products than imaginable (25,000 at launch and 100,000 by the end of 2011), offering a plethora of daily essentials across numerous brands (read more here). Combining their expertise in shipping and inventory management with renowned customer service (diapers.com has the rarefied STELLAService Elite rating), it’s fair to say Soap.com has the pedigree to become a major force in the online marketplace.
More on Soap.com from TechCrunch.
