ZipDial Raises Second Round of Seed Funding From 500 Startups; Not Just a Missed Call Company
Bangalore based ZipDial, the mobile engagement platform, has raised its second round of funding from 500Startups. Boasting of clientele such as Hindustan Unilever, P & G, Disney and Puma, ZipDial has raised money to go international.Having already launched in the Caribbean for clients like Pepsi and KFC, the ZipDial team is looking to expand to other Asian countries like Indonesia and Philippines later in 2013.
Founded by Valerie Wagoner, ZipDial is a service that asks the user to place a missed call on a given number for multiple customer engagement services. A website that uses ZipDial to Verify would ask the user to enter his mobile number on the site and show a message of their desire. This could be text, contact details or anything that the users wish to use.
Earlier in 2011, ZipDial had raised Angle funding from from Mumbai Angels, Blume Ventures and some US-based angel investors.
Paul Singh from 500Startups has been quoted saying that The investment is in the range of $250,000 and is 500Startup's 10th investment in India.
[Update]
Excerpts from the interview with Valerie Wagoner:
Q: Speed of investment has become a big talking point. Having raised money from India, as well as 500 startups now, how quick was the experience?
A: It was amazingly fast! From our first lunch meeting to the final deal, it took us 6 weeks and that time too was primarily because of the bureaucracies in the system.
Q: Are you disclosing the amount? How do you plan to use the funds?
A: No, we're not. This is a very strategic move in terms of our product roadmap. 500 Startups has a truely global network and it'll help us to accelerate in other developing economies like Brazil and Mexico.
Q: How many customers do you have? What is the target market?
A: From the biggies like Unilever to SMBs, we've clients in all categories. Currently, we serve close to 400 customers and this number is expected to rise quickly.
Q: Many other players have popped up with similar services. What are your views on competition?
A: Most of them are just a feature. We're not a missed call company. What ZipDial offers is a lot more in terms of analytics and intelligence that the others miss out on. The IP is the key over here. We're not trying to sell missed calls.
Stay tuned as we bring you more updates from ZipDial and 500Startups.