Comments on: Bazaarvoice Closes $8.8 Million Series B http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/ Startup and Technology News Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:22:33 -0800 hourly 1 By: Profitable Startup Bazaarvoice Takes $8.8M More | AustinStartup http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-2972899 Profitable Startup Bazaarvoice Takes $8.8M More | AustinStartup Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:57:09 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-2972899 [...] It is being reported that Bazaarvoice has closed on $8.8M in funding, although the company website has no news of the event. Perhaps it’s just a case of TechCrunch jumping the gun a bit on some Monday morning news. Back in May we reported on the company’s announcement that they turned the corner on profitability. So why take venture money? [...] [...] It is being reported that Bazaarvoice has closed on $8.8M in funding, although the company website has no news of the event. Perhaps it’s just a case of TechCrunch jumping the gun a bit on some Monday morning news. Back in May we reported on the company’s announcement that they turned the corner on profitability. So why take venture money? [...]

]]> By: SEO Contest » Blog Archive » Review provider gets cash injection http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1686505 SEO Contest » Blog Archive » Review provider gets cash injection Sat, 20 Oct 2007 06:16:45 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1686505 [...] Bazaarvoice, the bourgeois of consumer reviews to online retailers, has secured a infant ammo of inventiveness from investors, according to this article on TechCrunch. [...] [...] Bazaarvoice, the bourgeois of consumer reviews to online retailers, has secured a infant ammo of inventiveness from investors, according to this article on TechCrunch. [...]

]]> By: RGECWEB http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1651874 RGECWEB Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:46:01 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1651874 The CEO of Bazaarvoice is no stranger to running a successful start-up. <a>Blog post regarding Bazaarvoice and Founder</a> The CEO of Bazaarvoice is no stranger to running a successful start-up.

Blog post regarding Bazaarvoice and Founder

]]> By: Optimize Product Reviews for Conversion Free Webinar http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1612185 Optimize Product Reviews for Conversion Free Webinar Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:32:06 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1612185 [...] Congratulations to Bazaarvoice on closing $8.8 Million in their Series B. Brett Hurt and his team continue to deliver wonderful results and service, and [...] [...] Congratulations to Bazaarvoice on closing $8.8 Million in their Series B. Brett Hurt and his team continue to deliver wonderful results and service, and [...]

]]> By: Fennie McFanny http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1611069 Fennie McFanny Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:58:44 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1611069 This is truly bazaar. This is truly bazaar.

]]> By: Digital Lifescapes http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1609664 Digital Lifescapes Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:49:06 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1609664 I recall that market studies that have previously assessed the "word-of-mouth" space tended to rank peer-level customer reviews highly -- relative to the ROI benefit for eCommerce sites. So, the VCs funding Bazaarvoice can probably point to research that validates their investment. Granted, that isn't always the case for some of the more speculative start-up companies in the SaaS sector. I recall that market studies that have previously assessed the “word-of-mouth” space tended to rank peer-level customer reviews highly — relative to the ROI benefit for eCommerce sites.

So, the VCs funding Bazaarvoice can probably point to research that validates their investment. Granted, that isn’t always the case for some of the more speculative start-up companies in the SaaS sector.

]]> By: Daniel Swartz http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1609225 Daniel Swartz Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:27:37 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1609225 The competitor that Bryan Eisenberg referred to in his comment is PowerReviews of course. The competitor that Bryan Eisenberg referred to in his comment is PowerReviews of course.

]]> By: Brett Hurt http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608822 Brett Hurt Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:16:24 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608822 Bazaarvoice is a profitable business model that has already been validated by over 120 paying clients, including some of those mentioned in the comments and the original post. We have repeatedly shown the presence of product reviews on an eCommerce site drives conversion (i.e., sales), customer loyalty (i.e., repeat buying), and a corresponding decrease in returns (as consumers are setting each other's expectations in an honest way). As an ASP (or SaaS), we make it easy for our clients to offer this functionality. We do the moderation for them with a stay-at-home workforce of primarily college-educated moms. We also provide them with a rich word-of-mouth analytics platform so that they can learn how to better serve their customers. Merchants quickly get addicted to this honest feedback about the products they are offering, and insight often leads to offering entirely new or better products. And then we syndicate that content out to 25 of the highest-traffic shopping portals, so that consumers find reviews from our retail clients and this serves as a means of advertising. This isn't as easy as writing some JavaScript or chunking some code into a page. Clients like Overstock.com did this in-house for four years prior to outsourcing it to us. As a profitable company, we will use these funds the further expand internationally, continue to expand beyond retail, create new solutions for our clients (Ask & Answer and SyndicateVoice, mentioned in the article, are only the beginning), and really put the pedal down on capitalizing on our opportunity. For the history, we announced profitability in May: http://www.bazaarvoice.com/press050207.html Bazaarvoice is a profitable business model that has already been validated by over 120 paying clients, including some of those mentioned in the comments and the original post. We have repeatedly shown the presence of product reviews on an eCommerce site drives conversion (i.e., sales), customer loyalty (i.e., repeat buying), and a corresponding decrease in returns (as consumers are setting each other’s expectations in an honest way).

As an ASP (or SaaS), we make it easy for our clients to offer this functionality. We do the moderation for them with a stay-at-home workforce of primarily college-educated moms. We also provide them with a rich word-of-mouth analytics platform so that they can learn how to better serve their customers. Merchants quickly get addicted to this honest feedback about the products they are offering, and insight often leads to offering entirely new or better products. And then we syndicate that content out to 25 of the highest-traffic shopping portals, so that consumers find reviews from our retail clients and this serves as a means of advertising. This isn’t as easy as writing some JavaScript or chunking some code into a page. Clients like Overstock.com did this in-house for four years prior to outsourcing it to us.

As a profitable company, we will use these funds the further expand internationally, continue to expand beyond retail, create new solutions for our clients (Ask & Answer and SyndicateVoice, mentioned in the article, are only the beginning), and really put the pedal down on capitalizing on our opportunity.

For the history, we announced profitability in May:
http://www.baza...ress050207.html

]]> By: beng http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608790 beng Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:46:44 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608790 to #2 Bazaar voice is not centralized editorial, check out there site and stuff. Their main gig is a hosted rating/reviewing/commenting engine that lets other sites (and they have some biggies (like QVC and Macy's) add those capabilities easier. Think of it as a much fancier js-kit that you have to pay for. to #2

Bazaar voice is not centralized editorial, check out there site and stuff. Their main gig is a hosted rating/reviewing/commenting engine that lets other sites (and they have some biggies (like QVC and Macy’s) add those capabilities easier. Think of it as a much fancier js-kit that you have to pay for.

]]> By: hanes http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608656 hanes Mon, 10 Sep 2007 09:05:35 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608656 uh sounds like a good presentation rather than a good product uh sounds like a good presentation rather than a good product

]]> By: Bryan Eisenberg http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608638 Bryan Eisenberg Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:48:09 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608638 I'd agree much of the web 2.0 money is being prepped for a big flush. In the case of Bazaarvoice I would have to disagree. Each and every quarter they have beat revenue expectations by providing high value returns for their customers by enabling customers to review products (and other voice of customer feature like Ask & Answer), and the companies to capitalize on the good will and increased conversions these reviews provide. Some of their clients they provide review functionality include Dell, Wal-Mart and Overstock.com. They charge companies like these for the functionality, monitoring and distribution of these reviews. This is providing social media functionality the old fashioned way. They earn from it. They have one significant competitor who is a "web 2.0" model. They give all the functionality away and make their money on a website with advertising because they host all those reviews on the site. I can't imagine it is working out as well for them yet. Full disclosure I am an advisor to Bazaarvoice. I’d agree much of the web 2.0 money is being prepped for a big flush. In the case of Bazaarvoice I would have to disagree. Each and every quarter they have beat revenue expectations by providing high value returns for their customers by enabling customers to review products (and other voice of customer feature like Ask & Answer), and the companies to capitalize on the good will and increased conversions these reviews provide. Some of their clients they provide review functionality include Dell, Wal-Mart and Overstock.com. They charge companies like these for the functionality, monitoring and distribution of these reviews. This is providing social media functionality the old fashioned way. They earn from it.

They have one significant competitor who is a “web 2.0″ model. They give all the functionality away and make their money on a website with advertising because they host all those reviews on the site. I can’t imagine it is working out as well for them yet.

Full disclosure I am an advisor to Bazaarvoice.

]]> By: Fake Michael Arrington http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608431 Fake Michael Arrington Mon, 10 Sep 2007 05:29:34 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608431 @Dominic Couldnt agree more, Growing stupidity of web 2.0 startups is partly due to the investors funding almost anything which contains the keywords -- UGC, Web 2.0, Ajax, Tagging, RSS... etc etc @Dominic
Couldnt agree more, Growing stupidity of web 2.0 startups is partly due to the investors funding almost anything which contains the keywords — UGC, Web 2.0, Ajax, Tagging, RSS… etc etc

]]> By: Dominic http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608393 Dominic Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:48:22 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608393 More steroid cash for a crash and burn. Everyday I see more and more VCs pissing money away. They have to invest it since that is the reason investors invest with them. But some of this is getting ridiculous. When the 2.0 meltdown gets into full force, the 1.0 crash will seem like a middle school soccer match. People running around everywhere not knowing where to run to. I guess they will all head over to Facebook looking for jobs. More steroid cash for a crash and burn. Everyday I see more and more VCs pissing money away. They have to invest it since that is the reason investors invest with them. But some of this is getting ridiculous. When the 2.0 meltdown gets into full force, the 1.0 crash will seem like a middle school soccer match. People running around everywhere not knowing where to run to. I guess they will all head over to Facebook looking for jobs.

]]> By: Austin Startup http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608382 Austin Startup Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:39:06 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608382 <strong>Profitable Startup Bazaarvoice Takes $8.8M More...</strong> It is being reported that Bazaarvoice has closed on $8.8M in funding, although the company website has no news of the event. Perhaps it's just a case of TechCrunch jumping the gun a bit on some Monday morning news. Back... Profitable Startup Bazaarvoice Takes $8.8M More…

It is being reported that Bazaarvoice has closed on $8.8M in funding, although the company website has no news of the event. Perhaps it’s just a case of TechCrunch jumping the gun a bit on some Monday morning news. Back…

]]> By: Michael http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608366 Michael Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:23:19 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608366 Congratulations to Brett, Sam, and the entire BazaarVoice team. I have watched their amazing growth over the past year and I look forward to seeing continued success with the new funding. Congratulations to Brett, Sam, and the entire BazaarVoice team. I have watched their amazing growth over the past year and I look forward to seeing continued success with the new funding.

]]> By: whoopee http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608340 whoopee Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:06:32 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608340 add to the list with mahalo of companies that don't grok that centralized editorial doesn't scale. for vanilla copy, you can just cut and paste what the OEM themselves send along. bezos is losing no sleep tonight. add to the list with mahalo of companies that don’t grok that centralized editorial doesn’t scale. for vanilla copy, you can just cut and paste what the OEM themselves send along.

bezos is losing no sleep tonight.

]]> By: Steve Ballmer http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/comment-page-1/#comment-1608339 Steve Ballmer Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:05:01 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/09/bazaarvoice-closes-88-million-series-b/#comment-1608339 Bazaar Voice? uhhh, I don't go that way. It may be alright for artsy Mac guys but there is nothing bazaar about this here MAN! http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com Bazaar Voice? uhhh, I don’t go that way. It may be alright for artsy Mac guys but there is nothing bazaar about this here MAN!

http://fakestev...er.blogspot.com

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