|
ShopText, Inc.
20 Marshall Street, Suite 220, Norwalk, CT
Norwalk-based ShopText is a mobile commerce and promotions company that counts Procter and Gamble and General Mills among its customers. The company’s innovative software platform enables businesses to connect with prospective customers in a new, cost-effective way and consumers to purchase products, request product samples or coupons, and enter contests – simply by sending a text message.
When ShopText’s CEO Steve Roberts met CI Managing Director of Investments Maneesh Sagar at a software industry event, he was not actively looking for a new home base for his New York-headquartered company. However, after meeting with Sagar and CI’s investment team, he was convinced that a partnership with CI would be valuable and that Connecticut – with its robust talent pool and entrepreneurial resources – was the right place to grow ShopText.
CI invested $1 million in ShopText in September 2008 to help launch the company in Connecticut and accelerate its growth.
“The advertising and marketing expertise residing in Fairfield County was a real draw for us, but without CI’s involvement, we would not have made the move. CI’s financial support, domain expertise and willingness to advise our company tipped the scales in our decision to relocate.” – Steve Roberts, CEO
According to Roberts, CI has added tremendous value to ShopText. CI helped the company secure a vice president of sales, structured a new pricing model and provided introductions to prospective customers. These actions resulted in an almost immediate jump in sales revenue.
“CI invests the time to thoroughly understand a company’s business. It has gone out of its way to do that, and that’s been extremely refreshing.” – Steve Roberts
Since moving to Connecticut, ShopText has expanded its leadership team, increased revenue 20 percent through clients such as Dillard’s, Johnson & Johnson and Condé Nast, and signed its first annual contract with Procter and Gamble.
www.shoptext.com
|
