Market Force Information Secures $19.3 Million in Financing
BOULDER, CO (February 28, 2006) — Market Force Information, Inc., an emerging Customer Experience Information company, announced today the close of its $19.3 million financing round. Centennial Ventures led the $11.3 million Series A equity investment, with participation from Boulder Ventures and Vista Ventures. Hercules Technology Growth Capital provided an additional $8 million debt commitment. Market Force will use the funding to accelerate its growth strategy of acquiring mystery shopping companies and investing in technology to further enhance the value and utility of the information it provides to clients.
Combined with seed funding from its founders and Centennial Ventures in May 2005, the total capital committed to date exceeds $20 million. Market Force was formed with the mission of building a unique information company that provides retailers with reliable and actionable information about their customers’ store-level experiences.
“Hyper-competition in the retail sector has created an urgent need for more robust, timely, and reliable store-level information,” said Centennial’s Steve Halstedt, who is chairman of Market Force’s board of directors. “I’m very excited about Market Force’s planned approach to the problem in the marketplace, and believe that the company’s focus on technology investment will create an innovative and unique information solution”.
“We’re pleased to have strong investor backing,” said Market Force CEO Karl Maier. “This financing provides Market Force the capital necessary to aggressively execute our growth strategy”.
Market Force will integrate Speedmark’s current products, best practices and domain expertise to grow and enrich the value of its information services. The company’s ongoing commitment to high-quality, innovative customer experience information and services will consistently provide clients with the very latest innovations, technologies and tools to measure the in-store customer experience and drive shareholder value.
About Market Force
Market Force Information, Inc. is an emerging provider of
store-level, customer experience information for retailers,
restaurants, consumer packaged goods companies and the financial
and hospitality communities. Market Force’s strategy
is to acquire mystery shopping companies and invest in technology
to further enhance the value and utility of the information
it provides to clients. Founded in 2005, Market Force is headquartered
in Boulder, Colorado with operations in Atlanta, Georgia.
Investors include Centennial Ventures, Boulder Ventures and
Vista Ventures. For more information, visit www.marketforceinfo.com.
About Centennial Ventures
Centennial Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in
network companies and related enabling software and technology
enterprises, has invested in over 100 communications and related
companies. Centennial has over $1 billion under management
and offices in Austin and Houston, TX, and Denver, CO. For
more information, visit www.centennial.com.
About Vista Ventures
Vista Ventures invests in early and development stage technology-based
companies in the Rocky Mountain region. Vista Ventures has
offices in Boulder and Fort Collins, CO. For more information,
visit www.vistavc.com.
About Hercules Technology Growth Capital
Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTGC),
is a specialty finance company providing debt and equity growth
capital to technology-related companies at all stages of development.
The company’s headquarters are located in Palo Alto,
CA with offices in Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; and Denver, CO.
For more information, visit www.herculestech.com.