Channel99 today announced the launch of a new marketing technology for B2B marketers to identify the vendors and channels that effectively drive high-quality website traffic from accounts in a company's total addressable market (TAM). By integrating vendor spend data to measure marketing's investment efficiency, Channel99's solutions enable businesses to level the playing field and understand which vendors and channels predictably impact the business outcomes most important to B2B marketers, like positively influencing pipeline and lowering customer acquisition costs.
Channel99 is founded by award-winning and three-time software entrepreneur Chris Golec, who pioneered the account-based marketing (ABM) technology category while leading Demandbase. In conjunction with its launch, the company also announced it received $5 million in seed funding led by San Francisco-based Jackson Square Ventures (JSV) with participation by Norwest Ventures, Bloomberg Beta and GTMfund.
"Many people don't realize that more than 90% of activity driven to a B2B website provides little to no value when it comes to driving new business," says Golec. "With investments across hundreds of vendors and channels, the industry desperately needs a single source of truth to consistently measure the efficacy of their efforts. That's exactly what Channel99 provides — transparency to pinpoint what's working and what's not."
Free mobile app offers immediate insights to channel performance
Channel99's launch offering includes a free mobile app that enables marketers to benchmark the performance of their digital channels against industry averages. Nearly 100 customers of various sizes and across industries — including F500 enterprises and middle market companies in technology, manufacturing, retail and financial services — are already using Channel99's mobile app to collect insights into which vendors and channels are driving quality traffic from their key accounts.
"Channel99 gives my team a clear view of which marketing efforts actually drive quality traffic and, ultimately, the business outcomes we're looking for," said Nick Panayi, CMO at Amelia.
"Channel99 gives my team a clear view of which marketing efforts actually drive quality traffic and, ultimately, the business outcomes we're looking for," said Nick Panayi, CMO at Amelia. "No more guessing games; Channel99's data and peer benchmarking makes it easy to decide where to invest budget and where to cut."
Reinvesting in technology and talent
JSV is known for investing in early-stage SaaS and marketplace startups with bold plans to transform industries, including B2B software standouts like DocuSign, Upwork and Seismic.
JSV is also bullish on reinvesting in entrepreneurs with a proven ability to shape the market. Golec pioneered ABM with the founding of Demandbase in 2007, a company in which JSV is the largest shareholder. Demandbase is widely recognized as the industry's leading provider of ABM, which has evolved into a staple in all B2B marketing strategies.
"Our decision to invest in a company is not based on the product offering alone; we must have firm conviction in the team," says Bob Spinner, Founding Partner at Jackson Square Ventures and lead investor in Channel99. "We believe Channel99 is uniquely positioned to pioneer the next wave of B2B marketing because we've seen firsthand how Chris can establish, manage, scale and lead a company to category ownership. We're proud to invest in him again."
Early next year, Channel99 will release its full platform. The enterprise solution will integrate vendor spend and customer relationship management (CRM) data with insights to maximize pipeline, eliminate wasted budget and increase transparency into vendor and channel performance.
About Channel99
Channel99 is a B2B performance marketing platform that unites marketing and finance teams to more effectively improve the value of marketing investment. By measuring the performance of vendors and channels driving high-quality website traffic, Channel99 helps B2B companies gain more meaningful and accurate insights into which investments reduce dollar inefficiencies, lower customer acquisition cost, and more predictably exceed sales pipeline numbers. Pioneering the next wave of B2B marketing, Channel99 provides the industry's only solution for measuring the quality of the channels generating pipeline. Learn more at www.channel99.com.
About Jackson Square Ventures
Jackson Square Ventures invests in early-stage software businesses that will be leaders in markets that matter in 10 years. Founded in 2011, the San Francisco-based firm primarily leads Series A investments in companies with a SaaS or marketplace focus. Its portfolio includes Alto Pharmacy, Artera, Cornershop, DocuSign, Jackbox Games, Seismic, Strava and Upwork, among others. For more information, follow the firm on Twitter or visit www.jsv.com.