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Recordant Secures $9 Million in Series B Funding
Pequot Ventures Leads Investment in Moment of Truth Intelligence(TM) Technology
| Source: Recordant
ATLANTA, GA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- February 5, 2007 -- Recordant, the first company to deliver "Moment
of Truth Intelligence™ (MOTI)" through face-to-face audio capture,
analytics and consultative services, announced today a $9 million
investment of Series B funding led by New York-based Pequot Ventures.
Other participating investment firms include Boston-based Kodiak Venture
Partners, who led the Series A funding in 2005 and newcomer Durham, North
Carolina-based Aurora Funds.
President and CEO, Jeff Neppl, explains why Recordant chose to work with
Pequot Ventures for this important investment: "Pequot has a long history
of identifying and actively working with innovative, market-changing
technology opportunities such as Recordant." He continues, "Pequot's
strategic partner approach affords Recordant a wealth of market insight,
national exposure and knowledgeable resources to capitalize on the
opportunity to dramatically shape how companies interact with their
customers."
Today, companies influence and measure customer traffic to a retail
location through advertising, marketing and other means. Point of sale
data offers quantitative insight into the results of the customer visit.
However, what happens in between is somewhat of a mystery, or the "black
box" of retail. Moment of Truth Intelligence™ offers an unparalleled
view by providing qualitative information on the actual interaction between
a customer and an employee. Leveraging this intelligence, companies can
have an impact on the quality of the employee-customer interaction and,
ultimately, their bottom line.
"At Pequot Ventures, we target investment companies like Recordant whose
technology addresses a fundamental market problem with an innovative
solution," explains Deborah Bernstein, principal with Pequot Ventures.
"Recordant identified a specific need in the retail industry to better
understand the in-store customer experience. By leveraging the advances in
digital signal processing, audio analytics, and storage costs, Recordant's
Moment of Truth Intelligence™ suite provides previously unavailable
insight to retailers about their own customer base. With a seasoned
management team, a focused market strategy and measurable return on
investment with existing clients, Recordant represents an ideal investment
opportunity for Pequot."
Investors are betting with confidence that Recordant has established a
first-mover advantage in the marketplace. Evidenced by consistent customer
results, Recordant has proven its ability to dramatically improve employee
performance, sales activity, training and coaching, customer service and
process adherence. Investors are equally excited about the solution's
scalability and broad applicability across multiple industries. The Series
B round will serve as a catalyst to support Recordant's vertical reach and
market strategy.
"Aurora Funds strives to create long-term relationships with companies that
can demonstrate superior market potential," notes Jan Bouten, Senior
Associate of Aurora Funds. "Recordant recognized the retail channel is not
at par with other distribution channels such as call centers and the
internet in leveraging technology to address quality assurance issues.
Moment of Truth Intelligence™ is an ideal fit for the unique challenges
facing the retail environment and an opportunity for Recordant clients to
differentiate beyond simply price."
Recordant enables companies in a retail environment to capture
employee-customer interactions via an audio-recording device. Upon
sophisticated audio processing and analysis, Recordant offers its clients
next day access to the actual audio of the in-store interactions.
Comprehensive analytics and reporting ensure the resulting intelligence is
both manageable and actionable allowing clients to improve overall customer
service, sales activity and adherence to standards.
"In 2006 Kodiak secured its position as lead investor to enable the company
to scale, beginning by adding depth to its management team and launching a
formal sales and marketing effort," explained John Abraham, general partner
at Kodiak Venture Partners. "With those goals accomplished, Kodiak is
excited to participate with Pequot Ventures and Aurora Funds in Recordant's
early success in a variety of markets with such significant, measurable
impact for their clients."
About Recordant
Recordant delivers "Moment of Truth Intelligence (MOTI)" solutions through
frontline capture technology in order to maximize employee potential and
customer satisfaction. Frontline capture technology incorporates audio
capture, analytics and consultative services enabling clients to see what
is actually happening on the sales floor across every interaction, every
day. Companies within retail, hospitality, automotive, financial services
and government sectors gain critical insight and the ability to impact
employee productivity, service levels, sales activity, training, product
direction and promotions. Recordant clients typically operate 100 or more
locations, have employees which require specialized knowledge, training and
orientation and leverage high-end interpersonal skills as a market
differentiator. Based in Alpharetta, Georgia, Recordant is a private
company. For more information, visit www.Recordant.com.
About Pequot Ventures
Pequot Ventures is the direct venture investment arm of Pequot Capital
Management, Inc., a leading asset management firm which, as of December 31,
2006 had over $7.6 billion of capital under management (including
approximately $412 million of uncalled committed capital). Pequot
Ventures is focused on today's most dynamic startup and growth stage
companies in the technology, telecommunications, and defense industries.
Pequot Ventures creates value in bringing energy and substantial sector
expertise to its portfolio companies through the collective intellectual
capital, deep operating experience and extensive network of its investment
team. The firm leverages its unique multi-billion dollar presence across
both public and private equity markets to help build competitive,
sustainable businesses in fast changing environments throughout their
lifecycle. Pequot Ventures accomplishes this goal in close partnership with
the founders and management team of its portfolio companies. For more
information visit www.pequotventures.com.
About Aurora Funds
The Aurora Funds is a venture capital firm that provides capital,
connections and strategic guidance to entrepreneurs with early-stage
healthcare and information technology companies. Founded in 1994, Aurora
manages over $234 million in five venture funds. The firm's six investment
professionals have over 100 years of combined venture capital investing and
operational experience. The Aurora team has managed investments in over 60
companies, resulting in five IPOs and eight M&A transactions to date. For
more information visit www.aurorafunds.com.
About Kodiak Venture Partners
Kodiak Venture Partners is a Waltham, Mass.-based venture capital firm
focused on seed and early stage investments in emerging communications/IT,
semiconductor and software companies. With a focus in the eastern regions
of the U.S. and Canada, Kodiak Venture Partners builds relationships with
entrepreneurs seeking accelerated market success. Kodiak's investment
partners are successful high-technology business entrepreneurs who take a
high-impact, hands-on approach to forming, operating, building and funding
market leaders. For more information, visit www.kodiakvp.com.