As trust in social media has plummeted and customer expectations have risen, businesses are turning to owned communities to engage customers and prospects. Based in London, with a team across Europe and the US, Zapnito is a community SaaS platform that allows brands to build customer participation by enabling them to learn, interact and co-create.
Now, Zapnito raised £3.3 million in a Series A funding round led by Octopus Ventures. The investment will allow Zapnito to accelerate growth by helping more organisations deploy communities post-pandemic, which has accelerated expectations for a quality digital-first brand experience.
Also, it will be used to develop its market-leading online community platform further. It will build on its virtual events capabilities, analytics tools, and a suite of integrations, and grow its core markets through increased sales, marketing, customer support, and targeting growth in the US.
Charles Thiede, CEO of Zapnito, said: “From the beginning of Zapnito, we have focused on enabling brands to create trusted communities. Until now our growth has been bootstrapped through self-funding and Angel investment. In Octopus we have found the right partner to allow us to further grow the Zapnito platform for larger enterprises and expansion into new markets. We’re incredibly proud to join their investment portfolio, and look forward to working with them to advance our mission of expert communities and collective intelligence.”
Paul Davidson, Principal at Octopus Ventures, said: “Community management is now a crucial part of how brands service their customers. It can also help showcase their identity among the most loyal subscribers and contributors. In Zapnito, Charles and Jon have developed a market-leading proposition that enables companies to embrace the power of communities by harnessing collective intelligence. This is a trend that we see gathering pace as brands seek to take greater control of their narrative. We are excited to be backing Zapnito and look forward to supporting its expansion into new markets with this funding round.”
Customer engagement made simple!
Zapnito’s online community platform combines knowledge-sharing with community interaction. During the pandemic crisis, it has been crucial for businesses to help them stay connected to their customers and drive participation via virtual events, knowledge-sharing, and peer-to-peer interaction. The expert communities capture the collective intelligence of its members by eliciting customer insight, engagement, and co-creation from customers, partners, and prospects.
Founded by Charles Thiede and Jon Beer, Zapnito’s customer base comprises knowledge-driven organisations, including publishers and associations and B2B SaaS companies that want to actively engage their customers. Its customers include global publishers such as Springer Nature and Wiley, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and SaaS businesses like Sova Assessment.
The post London-based online community platform Zapnito raises £3.3M Series A from Octopus Ventures appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
