Social commerce platform Chirpify has closed its $6 million series A round of funding with investments from Voyager Capital, Saturn Partners, Provenance Ventures, Idan Ravin, former Interscope Geffen A&M Vice Chairman David Cohen, and others. The new capital will be used to expand the company’s offering, helping to bring its platform to live events and the small screen.
Competing against the likes of Ribbon, Chirpify enables people to buy and sell products through social networks, specifically Twitter and Instagram. An ad is posted through the service and interested buyers can express their intentions by replying with “buy” and it will deduct the amount from their PayPal account. Currently, Chirpify is adding over 300 new users every day and says that it has a 4 percent conversion rate — those that look at a Tweet or photo and make a purchase.
But now, the company is interested in scaling their product upwards and is looking at occasions that could potentially reach larger audiences. This includes live events and television. Company CEO Chris Teso says that “Chirpify’s new investors are highly strategic as they provide expertise in vertical markets that we consider to be perfect targets for our technology–including sports, music, and media. We see a tremendous opportunity to leverage social as the point of conversion for our clients’ cross-channel campaigns.”
With more adoption of the second screen phenomenon, finding better ways to tap into social media while people are watching TV shows or when they’re attending live events could be rewarding. Imagine watching America’s Got Talent or American Idol or maybe any show with a strong social following: what if the episode mentions a specific product and then subsequently sends out a tweet encouraging you to purchase the item at a discount. If powered by Chirpify, interested buyers need only reply back with “buy” and it’s done — no need to hop onto the computer, search for the item, and deal with the hassle.
This same behavior could be done right at live events such as football games, rock concerts, or plays to allow fans to acquire memorabilia, souvenirs, or maybe even concessions. In fact, much of this could already be happening as the platform is being used by the Portland Trailblazers and musicians like Green Day and Snoop Dogg.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Chirpify has raised $7.3 million to date, with $1.3 million happening in April 2012 from Voyager Capital, HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes, TiE Oregon Angels, BuddyTV CEO Andy Liu, and others.
Photo credit: Thinkstock
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.