| The two entities will be combined under a newly formed holding company funded by Austin Ventures (www.austinventures.com), and will offer 25 years of combined market leadership with an installed customer base exceeding 25,000. The combined companies are strategically positioned and funded to deliver a complete line of web survey tools, solutions, services, and delivery options enabling business professionals, global organizations, and research firms to obtain, analyze, and leverage critical feedback for improved decision support.
In a separate announcement today by Austin Ventures, Dean Wiltse, former CEO of Greenfield Online, a leading panel provider for Marketing Research and consulting companies, was named Chairman and CEO of the combined entity.
“Our in-depth analysis of the market identified Perseus and WebSurveyor as leaders and innovators of the EFM and survey tools markets. Combining these two innovators establishes a single vendor offering the experience, technology, and resources to take full advantage of this swiftly growing market,” said David Lack, Venture Partner, Austin Ventures.
The newly combined entity will operate in five countries, with an expanding customer base that includes more than half of the Fortune 500.
According to a Gartner research report, “As the value of customer and employee feedback gains importance among organizations worldwide, more enterprises are seeking ways to collect and analyze feedback, and use [it] in conjunction with existing data and needs.” Moreover, “by unifying survey activities, organizations can realize true cost efficiencies associated with leveraging one vendor across multiple departments and ensure that the task of conducting surveys (preparation and distribution of questions, collection and analysis of data) remains the same across the different functions.”*
As business processes continue to shift from traditional to online formats, market research has followed suit. Unlike traditional focus group, paper and phone-based survey techniques, web surveys provide a rapid, cost-effective, and highly-detailed account of opinions and perceptions of customers, employees, partners, web site visitors, and other key stakeholders. The declining costs of gathering feedback due to internet survey software and ASP providers has rapidly fueled adoption, empowering less sophisticated users – from individuals to global organizations – to quickly and easily obtain and analyze feedback for better, more-informed decisions. Enterprise feedback systems have also assumed value in recent years by enabling the collection and integration of unique, highly-valuable “attitudinal” data which helps provide a fuller, richer view of the customer to better leverage CRM system investments.
“The growth and success of Perseus and WebSurveyor are proof of the viability and opportunity within this market. Our objective is to build next generation online survey tools for the business professional, and the most comprehensive Enterprise Feedback Management platform for the enterprise. As the companies come together, the combined set of products and services will allow for ‘total solution delivery’ enabling our customers to manage and utilize feedback as they would any valuable corporate asset,” said Dean Wiltse, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
About WebSurveyor
WebSurveyor Corporation is the leading provider of online survey technology solutions that empower people with real-time feedback to drive their businesses. Since 1998, over 4,000 customers have trusted WebSurveyor with their online survey projects. WebSurveyor ensures data security and confidentiality, a reliable survey hosting service, dependable survey software and a responsive team of survey experts – all backed by a money-back guarantee. The company has been recognized for its strong commitment to business excellence and to the highest standards of civic and social responsibility, integrity, and ethical conduct, while being named one of the fastest growing companies in America. WebSurveyor is a 2004 and 2005 Inc. 500 company, Deloitte Technology Fast 500 company, and a Deloitte Technology Fast 50 company. For more information, visit www.websurveyor.com
About Austin Ventures
Austin Ventures has been working with talented entrepreneurs to build valuable companies since 1979. With $3 billion under management, AV is the most active venture capital firm in Texas, and one of the most established in the nation. With a focus on business services, information services, computer and communications hardware, and enterprise software, Austin Ventures invests at all stages of company development, from $100,000 "planned experiments" to $50+ million investments in management buyouts.
* “Make the Transition from Surveys to Enterprise Feedback Management,” Esteban Kolsky, Gartner, May 6, 2005
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