RichRelevance, a company that powers personalized shopping experiences for online retailers, acquired Precog, an analytics technology startup (formerly known as ReportGrid). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Backed with $50 million in venture funding, RichRelevance aims to take consumer shopping data and help retailers leverage this information into a more personalized experience. As e-commerce continues to grow, and big data strategies enter the market, more retailers are providing customized online shopping for consumers to drive sales. In aggregate, RichRelevance’s clients represent more than 30 percent of online retail and include Target, Walmart, Sears, Overstock, The Disney Store and others.
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Precog deal brings team of top engineers with deep pedigree in open source technology and analytics to company
San Francisco, CA – Aug. 14, 2013 – RichRelevance, the global leader in omni-channel personalization, today announced that it has agreed to acquire assets of Precog, an analytics technology company based in Boulder, Colorado. Developed by veteran technologists with significant contributions to the open source community, Precog provides an advanced platform that helps companies store, integrate and analyze large volumes of modern, semi-structured data. As part of the deal, Precog CEO John De Goes, a noted software architect and graduating member of Boulder’s 2011 TechStars, as well as Precog’s entire team of senior engineering leaders, have joined RichRelevance.
The announcement follows RichRelevance’s May 2013 acquisition of Sweden-based Avail, which unified the companies’ expertise and created the undisputed global market leader in personalization for retail.
“Precog is a cutting-edge company with phenomenal engineering talent,” said David Selinger, CEO of RichRelevance. “As we look to the future, the Precog deal will be incredibly valuable as we continue to innovate new ways to turn data into measurable business value for our clients. We’re very excited to welcome the Precog team and look forward to their immediate contribution to our culture, technology and business.”
RichRelevance will be integrating Precog’s engineering team into data and analytics projects across research and product development. RichRelevance will retain and expand the Precog office in Boulder, in addition to its San Francisco headquarters, and offices in New York, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, London, Malmo, Munich and Paris.
“David and his team have built an amazing company and platform,” said De Goes. “Our companies share a vision of advanced analytics as the future of business, and a dedication to giving back to the broader technology industry. Our team is excited to join RichRelevance and continue building toward our shared vision.”
About RichRelevance
RichRelevance is the global leader in omni-channel personalization. More than 160 international companies use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $8 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Walmart, Marks & Spencer and Cdiscount. Recently, the company opened its cloud-based platform to allow clients to easily merge disparate data sources and build real-time applications tailored to their specific business needs. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco and serves clients in 40 countries from 10 offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com.
Competitor or partner?
That’s the question brands face in dealing with the behemoth of Amazon, whose vast operations compete with fashion brands and department stores in e-commerce. But these same brands and stores also are paying Amazon to advertise on its pages, which represent prime real estate in the ever-competitive e-commerce world.
In other words, Amazon is not only taking on retailers — it’s also battling Google.
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Accomplished financial executive brings 20 years of experience with high-growth technology companies
San Francisco, CA – Aug. 8, 2013 – RichRelevance®, the global leader in omni-channel personalization, today announced the appointment of Zach Koekemoer as Chief Financial Officer. A dynamic financial expert and seasoned leader with 20 years of experience driving performance of high-growth technology companies, Koekemoer has held executive positions at technology innovators including iPlay, Industrial Origami, WageWorks, @Road and others. In his new role, he will oversee and lead all aspects of the company’s financial operations as RichRelevance continues to rapidly expand across all lines of business.
Koekemoer joins as RichRelevance continues to expand its data and customer footprint. The company recently added datacenters in Stockholm, Sweden and Miami, FL; with another data center planned in Singapore, bringing their total number of datacenters worldwide to 11. The company has also integrated the recent acquisition of Malmo, Sweden-based Avail Technologies and continues to expand its business to serve a growing list of retailers and brands across the globe. RichRelevance currently ranks #1 for personalization in both the Internet Retailer 500 and Internet Retailer EU250, now with customers in 29 countries worldwide.
“Zach brings an outstanding pedigree in creating value through financial insight, executive leadership and strategic intelligence,” said David Selinger, CEO of RichRelevance. “He stands out as an operations-focused leader who can drive the financial maturation process – and has led organizations at every stage from funding through successful exits. He will be a tremendous asset as we move into our next phase of growth as the undisputed leader in data-driven personalization.”
Prior to joining RichRelevance, Koekemoer was the Chief Financial Officer at iPlay (acquired by iWin), a leading global innovator in the interactive games marketplace. In addition to its own iPlay-branded game sites, it also powered game sites for some of the world’s most recognized brands including Yahoo! Games, MSN Games, Orange (France Telecom), AT&T, Virgin and more. While at iPlay, Koekemoer oversaw the raising and completion of $22M in venture funding, as well as the integration of six acquisitions and the sale of the company’s Interactive/Connected TV business and its operations in China.
Prior to iPlay, Koekemoer served as Chief Financial Officer at Industrial Origami where he oversaw the analysis and reporting of the company’s financial operations, working hand-in-hand with the other members of the executive team. He also managed the company’s patent portfolio, which included 400 issued and pending applications, as well as successfully relocated the company from San Francisco, CA to Cleveland, OH.
He previously served as Vice President of Finance at WageWorks, where he grew the company’s revenue from $48M to $101M during his tenure. He has also held senior financial positions at @Road (acquired by Trimble Navigation) and Artisan Components (acquired by ARM Holdings).
A Certified Public Accountant, Koekemoer began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a graduate of Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
“RichRelevance has cemented its position as #1 by offering an incredible data architecture, consistent product innovation and, most importantly, by providing ongoing, measurable value for their world-class customer base,” said Koekemoer. “The company’s team, technology and footprint are unmatched – and growing at a record pace. I am very excited to join David and RichRelevance as we expand the financial operations and structures necessary to continue to support the organization and its clients.”
About RichRelevance
RichRelevance is the global leader in omni-channel personalization. More than 160 international companies use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $8 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Walmart, Marks & Spencer and Cdiscount. Recently, the company opened its cloud-based platform to allow clients to easily merge disparate data sources and build real-time applications tailored to their specific business needs. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco and serves clients in 40 countries from 10 offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com
Pre-built integration makes it faster and easier for Demandware clients to deploy personalized product recommendations and personalization functionality
San Francisco, CA – July 15, 2013 – RichRelevance®, the leading provider of dynamic personalization for the world’s largest retailers and brands, today announced that it has become a Demandware LINK Technology Partner, joining a best-of-breed community committed to accelerating the adoption of innovative commerce technologies that are complementary to the Demandware® Commerce platform. Through the LINK Technology Partner Program, RichRelevance has developed a pre-built integration between RichRelevance and Demandware Commerce, making it possible for Demandware clients to implement its personalization solution in a fraction of the time normally required.
RichRelevance was recently named the #1 most influential vendor in the personalization category based on a combined $32.91 billion in online sales across its clients in the Internet Retailer 1000. After successfully partnering with 12 of the top 20 Internet Retailers, the company looks forward to expanding its offerings to retailers across the board.
The Demandware LINK Technology Partner Program provides Demandware clients with a rich of set of pre-built integrations to cutting-edge commerce technologies and applications that can unlock revenue generating opportunities and enhance the brand experience. By reducing the cost and complexity of integrations, Demandware LINK allows retailers to adopt innovative third-party technologies quickly and cost-effectively, allowing them to accelerate time to market and realize a faster return on their investment.
“Every retailer in the world deserves access to the best omni-channel personalization in the industry,” said Jake Bailey, VP of Product Marketing and Solutions at RichRelevance. “We couldn’t be more excited about bringing our technology to Demandware’s global clients. Their impressive customer base will now have access to applications that optimize merchandising, email, content and creative–enabling unparalleled lifetime customer value from personalization.”
About RichRelevance
RichRelevance is the global leader in personalization for the world’s largest retailers and brands. More than 160 international companies use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $8 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Walmart, Marks & Spencer and Cdiscount. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco and serves clients in 40 countries from 10 offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com.
Does elegant code have a gender? Are mega data-sets XX or XY? Of course not. Maths is pure abstraction, and engineering skills can be learned… so why aren’t more women and girls getting into tech?
The issue of gender diversity is rightly front-and-centre, not least because of the efforts of leading executives including Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg. With Sandberg’s Lean In as a backdrop, here’s how one Silicon Valley shop–RichRelevance, where I’m chief marketing officer–meets the challenge of gender parity. Our executives are committed to the conversation–but, like many tech companies, we have a way to go. Our company’s leadership is 20 per cent female and our total employee statistics skew more male than female (79 women, 170 men). We plan to double in size this year and we want to attract the best and brightest irrespective of gender, but right now, male applicants far outnumber female applicants, leading me to ask the obvious question, how do we attract more women?
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