Waltham, Mass.-based Pursway, the Israeli big data marketing analytics company, announced Thursday morning that it closed a $7.2 million Series B round of funding from existing investors Battery Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners.
The new financing will be put toward bringing more people onto the sales and product teams and ramping up marketing efforts and lead generation. Pursway Chief Executive Dave Ellenberger told BostInno that the $7.2 million will also be used to support the expansion of the company's product offering, particularly with "more extensive dashboard reporting," with the hopes of expanding the customer base.
"We have a history in telecommunications and mobile, and have since expanded into financial services and retail," shared Ellenberger. "There's a big opportunity in hospitality. We're going to keep building on that success, initially in the U.S. and European markets. We see that it's a great time in the marketplace to expand the company. Companies are looking to expand and improve their direct marketing effectiveness and are looking on how to improve and effectively use big data."
Pursway's technology improves customer acquisitions, cross-sells and customer retention by identifying relationships between buyers and their social networks, allowing marketers to target customers that can sway the purchasing decisions of others. At Pursway, Ellenberger said, "We identify relations and use big data to identify those people within the social sphere who are already the real social influencers."
Working with big customers like Sony, Comcast and telecommunications company Orange, Pursway has consistently delivered a three-times increase in marketing ROI, Ellenberger noted.
“There’s no question that big data and social influence have given marketers valuable insight into their target buyers, but translating that data into sales continues to be the Achilles heel,” said Scott Tobin, a partner at Battery Ventures, in the release. “Pursway takes a completely different approach, relying on transaction and interaction data, revealing previously invisible social connections that drive actual and measurable consumer behavior. As a result, the demand from major retailers, financial institutions and telecom providers has been significant. We’re confident that Pursway will continue to disrupt the way marketers use data to generate sales.”
Pursway holds two offices in Israel and Waltham, respectively, employing around 30 people in total. The company raised $6 million in Series A in 2010 from Battery Investors.
