TheVentureCity’s portfolio company Pixlee TurnTo, a user-generated content, ratings & reviews, and influencer marketing platform, has been acquired by Emplifi, a leading customer experience platform. With the combined abilities post-acquisition, brands will have one platform to amplify the right message to the right audience on the right channels with increased authenticity, relatability, and credibility.
This marks TheVentureCity, a global early-stage venture fund, investing in product-centric startups across the US, Europe and Latam, its second big exit in just over a year, the last one being their portfolio company Returnly, which was acquired in April 2021 by the fintech Affirm.
Pixlee TurnTo’s leading-edge, customer-powered solutions give brands the tools to market to, sell to, and care for consumers authentically, cost-effectively, and at scale. Emplifi will incorporate Pixlee TurnTo’s capabilities across its social marketing, live commerce, and customer care workflows as part of its unified CX Cloud platform.
‘’George Eberstadt, Kyle Wong, and Awad Sayeed have been amazing founders to work with since we invested in 2017. They are great visionaries, always anticipating what brands need. They have taken advantage of every opportunity through their product to make brands more human, community-oriented, and accessible to everyone. We are sure that with Emplifi this will be a new beginning for marketers around the globe,” states TheVentureCity General Partner Andy Areitio.
”The PixleeTurnTo acquisition is a testament of how good products always bring value, even in the worst-case scenarios like the one both consumer brands and marketers are facing today. Founders out there, always focus on your product, its value to your customers, and never stop gathering feedback! In times like the present the best products will always win!”, says Laura González-Estéfani, Founder and CEO of TheVentureCity.
The review economy
Today more than ever, consumers are influenced by like-minded peers through UGC, reviews, and nano-influencers, with 70% considering UGC reviews or ratings before making a purchase.
At the same time, marketing and ecommerce departments are stretched with budget and resources. Leveraging UGC presents a cost-effective, efficient source of content, while also amplifying the voices of a brand’s most powerful advocates, its customers. Brands turn to Pixlee TurnTo’s solutions to easily identify the right UGC content, surface highlights from positive reviews and identify influencers to inspire and educate their digital audiences while delivering deeper engagement, higher conversion rates, and increased loyalty.
“We couldn’t be more proud to welcome Pixlee TurnTo to the Emplifi team. By combining our strengths, we will be able to help brands close their customer experience gaps across marketing, commerce, and care by amplifying authentic customer voices throughout the entire customer journey,” said Emplifi CEO, Mark Zablan. “People relate to other people’s experiences. By providing the tools to leverage user-generated content, ratings and reviews, and influencer marketing, Emplifi will help brands build authenticity and solve for content at scale.”
“Today marks an important milestone for Pixlee TurnTo, as we officially become part of the Emplifi family,” said Kyle Wong, Chairman and Co-Founder, Pixlee TurnTo. “Our vision has always been to enable community-driven brands to create outstanding experiences for their customers, and we are proud to have joined forces with a company that will enable us to take that vision even further.”
