Extole Secures $5 Million in Series A Round of Funding

SAN FRANCISCO - Extole, the industry’s first Social Marketing as a Service Platform, today announced it has closed a $5 million Series A round of funding. The financing was led by Trident Capital with participation from Redpoint Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners (NVP). Extole plans to use the new funding to grow the team and further expand its Social Marketing Platform to meet the demands of its growing customer base. In addition to the funding, the company also announced today the complete rebranding of TellAPal to Extole.

Extole’s end-to-end, Social Marketing as a Service Platform enables brands to easily leverage social marketing solutions, such as the industry’s leading referral marketing service and viral Facebook sweepstakes applications. This first-of-its-kind social platform approach produces high-value customer referrals, increased social engagement and highly visible brand recommendations, all resulting in measurable ROI in the form of new customers and sales. Extole’s Social Marketing Platform is already adopted by several top brands including Drugstore.com, Roku, MyFico, Vistaprint, Xoom and many more.

“Our social marketing solutions enable brands to effectively extend their reach into social networks, tap into new sales channels and increase brand awareness with measurable results,” said Brad Klaus, CEO and co-founder of Extole. “Today’s funding is a testament to the significant market opportunity that we’re pursuing and the demand for a social marketing platform that delivers a clear ROI. We are thrilled to be backed by leading venture capital firms, all of which have strong track records in building successful companies.”

“There is a high demand for social marketing solutions that deliver positive ROI for brands. This is why Extole’s SaaS-based social marketing platform has been so well received in the marketplace,” said Evangelos Simoudis, senior managing director at Trident Capital. “It is no surprise that the company is experiencing such explosive growth.”

“Social media is substantially changing consumer buying behavior, as an increasing number of brands are relying on consumer recommendations over advertising,” said Chris Moore, partner at Redpoint Ventures. “Extole’s platform enables brands to take advantage of this shift in behavior.”

About Extole

Extole helps brands harness the marketing potential of the growing social channel. The company’s unique full-service Social Marketing as Service offering enables brands to tap into a new customer acquisition channel, increase customer engagement, generate positive social recommendations and improve customer insight. Extole’s Social Marketing Platform is utilized by many top brands including Drugstore.com, MyFico, Roku, Vistaprint, Xoom and many others. For more information, please visit http://www.extole.com

About Trident Capital

Trident Capital is one of the world’s leading venture capital and private equity firms with more than $1.8 billion of capital under management, including the recently closed Trident Capital Fund VII. The firm focuses on investments in Software and Information Technology-Enabled Services, Healthcare IT, Internet and CleanTech. Trident invests across multiple stages, including early and late stage venture capital as well as growth equity and buyouts. The firm has made over 160 investments since inception in 1993. Trident has investment offices in Palo Alto, CA and Westport, CT. For more information on Trident Capital, visit http://www.tridentcap.com.

About Redpoint Ventures

Redpoint Ventures has helped entrepreneurs build innovative businesses that defy convention, shape the future, and change the world. From early investments in industry pioneers like MySpace, Netflix, TiVo, and Juniper to companies such as RightMedia, Zimbra, LifeSize, Danger, Fortinet and Solyndra – Redpoint stands behind its entrepreneurs helping them go all the way to the top. With Redpoint’s deep experience and focus on quality, the firm offers entrepreneurs a culture and approach that values mutual respect, meaningful relationships, and an intense commitment to succeed. Redpoint (http://www.redpoint.com) was founded in 1999 and currently has over $2 billion under management. Its partners have been involved in 38 IPOs and 63 upside acquisitions. The firm is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with offices in Los Angeles and Shanghai, China.

About Norwest Venture Partners (NVP)

Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a global venture and growth equity investment firm that manages more than $3.7 billion in capital. It has offices in Palo Alto, California, Mumbai and Bengaluru, India and Herzelia, Israel. NVP makes early to late stage venture and growth equity investments in U.S. and global companies across a wide range of sectors including: information technology, business services, financial services, technology enabled services and consumer. NVP has actively partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 49 years and has funded over 450 companies since inception. For more information, please visit http://www.nvp.com.