| Website | merchantcircle.com |
| Blog | merchantcircle.co... |
| Category | Web |
| Phone | 4123448590 |
| Employees | 10 |
| Founded | 9/08 |
| Total | $14.1M |
| Series A Rustic Canyon Partners Scale Venture Partners Steamboat Ventures | $4.1M |
| Series B, 9/07 IAC Rustic Canyon Partners Scale Venture Partners Square 1 Bank Steamboat Ventures | $10M |
MerchantCircle is trying to provide mom and pop businesses a way to reach local customers through the internet. The service provides small businesses with a web page listing, blogging and email newsletter application, and a local business network that focuses on connecting local businesses. Additionally, businesses can create coupons to send to customers. “Circle” in the company’s name comes from a viral marketing strategy that encourages members to sign new members in their community. The service’s basic account is free, but they also offer two premium accounts ($30/month and $100/month) which offer additional features and publicity.
As of 11/07 the site has more than $14 million in series B funding. They have 450,000 business listings across the country, which the company says are all easily accessed on major search engines. MerchantCircle’s CEO, Ben Smith, previously was Co-Founder and CEO of Spoke Software. He also once served as a White House Senior Advisor for strategy and planning to the Secretary of Transportation
Hyve Up interview with Ben T. Smith and Kevin Leu
Added: 2/26/08| Website | merchantcircle.com |
| Stage | Live |
| Launch Date | January 1, 2008 |
| Tags | ad-supported-software |
