Itai Kathein discusses how Tandem Executives raised 1 Million Dollars in their latest round of venture capital funding.

1. Tandem Executives Raise 1 Million Dollars
A few high­level
employees who left Grooveshark back in 2012 have
already raised $950,000 for a new startup called Tandem. The service
combines analytical data, sales information, and surveys to help
e­commerce
companies better understand their customers’ shopping
behavior and motivating interests for purchasing.
Companies with thousands of customers have a huge pile of data waiting to be mined but may
lack the resources to get access to that information and make sense of it all. Tandem draws that
data from a company’s historical sales information and then consolidates it all into one seamless
and intuitive dashboard. Tandem gives you the ability to sift through useful charts, important
insights, and smart segments of your company’s customer base, all from one integrated
location.
Once Tandem has divided your customers into manageable and helpful subsections, it will send
them “persona surveys” to figure out more information about their shopping habits, interests, and
driving motivations. These email surveys take advantage of promotional offers in order to
encourage the highest response rate possible.
The best part is that all of this data is ultimately connected to a company’s customer base (i.e.
their email addresses.) So if there is ever a question about what a chart is implying or why you
had a spike or drop in sales, you can dig deeper by sending surveys and asking questions. The
longer­term
goal for Tandem is to get even smarter about reacting to the data and dig deeper
into customer behavior, personality, and purchasing habits.
The idea for Tandem came when Grooveshark employees, including former Chief Revenue
Officer Isaac Moredock, realized how difficult it was to compile customer information and make
sense of it all. The employees left in 2012 to pursue Tandem and have been perfecting their
service since then, including a successful beta testing this summer.
Tandem faces competition from other survey sites, like SurveyMonkey, as well as analytical
engines and consulting firms. But Tandem hopes to distinguish itself with its smart, automated
software and clean, intuitive interface. Surveys are important, but they’re just a part of Tandem’s
equation that gives insight into customer engagement and purchasing motivations.
The 9­person
Tandem team secured the $950,000 investment from The Institute for
Commercialization of Public Research and other angel investors. Tandem’s pricing starts at
$200/month for businesses with a 20,000 customer base, and starts at $595/month for those
with up to 100,000 customers.