Groove raises $1M, launches out of beta to turn small business customer support on its head

After catching our eyes last year while in private beta, helpdesk software startup Groove is launching out of beta with a complete product and website redesign, raising $1 million and turning down two acquisitions in the process.

Groove, which is kicking off with 1,000+ paying customers from its beta days, is challenging the likes of Zendesk and oLark with a focus on user experience instead of features. Emphasizing its handsome user interface and simplicity, CEO & founder Alex Turnbull believes his company will be able to support the needs of small businesses and startups like no other service can. Of course, that’s for the users to decide.

Groove’s offering is split into two different products: Helpdesk is a support ticket management service that brings together email and social media through its Web, desktop (Adobe Air-powered), iPhone and iPad apps. LiveChat focuses on real-time website visitor engagement, operating exactly as the name implies.

Observers of this space will note that Groove’s competitors, most notably SalesForce’s Desk (previously known as Assistly), showcase similar offerings. In fact, Desk even touts a highly similar landing page and a comparable design aesthetic.

To this point, Turnbull explains that Groove packs a more full featured live chat app, and, perhaps most importantly, offers a freemium pricing model limited by the number of support tickets used. For “Pro” users, Groove’s pricing is also much lower than Desk ($49/month/user), as it starts at $25/month/user for Helpdesk and $12/month/user for LiveChat.

Check out Groove via the link below and let us know in the comments how you think it stacks up against the competition.

➤ Groove