Texting is an inexorable part of our lives. Zipwhip enables ‘texting’ for business, but it’s no ordinary texting tool. It’s USP is such that the company has raised over US $90 million in several funding rounds, of which it raised $51.5 just a few days ago.
Fundamentally, both SMS & MMS are mobile phone technologies. Here’s what zipwhip has done. It has “reconfigured” these popular systems so that they work on ordinary landlines as well as toll-free lines. Texting for business just got easy.
The concept, developed over a 10 year period, creates a method for text re-routing, which allows clients to send messages to any phone line, while businesses are able to reply in the same format, without a mobile or having to resort to email or physical calls.
The latest round of funding lead by Goldman Sachs’ Private Capital Investing has put the $51.5 million at the disposal of zipwhip’s board to help it grow. The latest series D funding round for the company, has also had participation by existing investors, such as Overview, Microsoft’s M12 & Voyager Capital.
With an aim to disrupt the telecommunications industry, starting with North America, zipwhip plans to re-double its efforts in the coming year & have its system available to a market estimated at over 32 million companies.
Currently, zipwhip sends more than 150 million text messages to non-mobile phone lines daily, & has around 3 million phones on platform. Companies are able to respond directly, using the zipwhip app for the desktop, Android or iOS. Additionally, it can set up auto-responders, customized message templates & bulk messaging.
Reach customers faster using zipwhip’s texting-for-business software and API solutions. Send and receive text messages on your computer using your existing business phone number.
Founded by John Lauer, John Larson & Anthony Riemma in 2007, the company has a record of setting & achieving its goals over a measurable time-frame, which is one of the reasons its investment numbers have grown. The startup has has seen an 80% rise in revenue over the past year, while the customer base has increased to over 20,000 enterprises. The zipwhip team sincerely believes that the average consumer is most comfortable with ‘texting’ as opposed to any other form of communication, since it’s the choice they make for their day-to-day messaging. So, with its sights focused on growth & the means to consolidate their approach, zipwhip is most certainly a “mobile” company to watch, say analysts.
Image Credit: zipwhip
