RatePoint Secures $10 Million in Series B Funding

Castile Ventures invests in future of SMB online reputation management provider

NEEDHAM, Mass., Jan. 7 RatePoint, Inc., a leading provider of customer feedback and online reputation management services, today announced it has closed a $10 million Series B round of funding led by Castile Ventures of Waltham, Mass., with participation by existing investors .406 Ventures and Prism VentureWorks. RatePoint also announced that Nina Saberi, Managing General Partner of Castile Ventures, has joined the board of directors.

“Clearly during this economic uncertainty, this funding round reaffirms the explosive growth in online reputation management and RatePoint as the catalyst,” said Neal Creighton, cofounder and CEO of RatePoint. “Small businesses realize the need to proactively manage what’s being said by customers about their products and services online, especially in a highly competitive marketplace.”

RatePoint’s patent-pending platform allows businesses to manage their online reputation by easily capturing, managing, and promoting consumer reviews and feedback directly on their Web sites in language provided by the consumer. RatePoint verifies actual consumer reviews for authenticity, and provides businesses with the opportunity to respond to unsatisfied customers or negative feedback before it’s posted online. Additionally, the robust suite of tools offers e-mail marketing and surveys – plus a Web-based management interface – making it easy for businesses around the globe to connect with customers, increase sales, and improve consumer confidence.

According to the Gartner Hype Cycle for Social Software report, Internet reputation management is an emerging market that will continue to gain momentum. The report, which named RatePoint as a solution delivering the critical component for monitoring reputation, states that companies need to engage in Internet reputation management and have a great deal to lose if they do not become more adept at managing their reputation.

“RatePoint has created a unique service that enables businesses to manage and enhance their online reputations,” said Nina Saberi, Managing General Partner of Castile Ventures and RatePoint Board Member. “As investors in market-transforming businesses, Castile recognizes in RatePoint the vision and differentiated technology that positions them for leadership in this new market. Having worked with Neal Creighton and several of his team in their previous successful venture, we are very pleased to have this opportunity to work with them again.”

RatePoint was launched by the founders of GeoTrust and is backed by a previous $6.5 million Series A funding led by Prism VentureWorks in Needham, MA, and .406 Ventures of Boston.

About Castile Ventures

Castile Ventures is a top-performing early-stage venture capital firm that provides financial backing and strategic guidance to help exceptional entrepreneurs build successful businesses. Distinguished by the deep business and technology experience of its partners, Castile brings a unique blend of sector expertise, investment know-how, operational insights, and connections to IT decision makers. Since our founding in 1998, the companies we have invested in have brought to market a broad range of products and services to serve the technology needs for enterprises, service providers and the mass market. These have ranged from disruptive enabling technologies through next-generation service infrastructure and delivery platforms to leading edge security solutions and innovation-enabled Internet services. More information is available at www.castileventures.com.

About RatePoint, Inc.

RatePoint, Inc., the leading provider of customer feedback and online reputation management services, helps businesses protect and build their online reputation, allowing businesses to harness the power of credible customer feedback and leverage it into a sales, marketing and customer service asset.

RatePoint’s easy-to-use, web-based communication services include feedback tools, email marketing, survey and dispute resolution capabilities to provide small- and medium-sized businesses with the ability to collect, manage and promote customer feedback directly from their website. For more information, contact us at: 888-777-1636 or visit: www.ratepoint.com.

Source: RatePoint, Inc.