SAN FRANCISCO — Gladly, which operates a customer service platform, has secured $55 million in funding from Riverwood Capital, with participation from existing investors including Greylock, GGV, NEA and Glynn Partners. The investment will be used to support innovation of Gladly’s people-centered customer service platform, used to assist commerce brands in moving from the transaction era to the loyalty era.
Gladly says the company experienced 100% Year-over-Year growth and over 100 new customers signed this year, including Athletic Greens, Bombas, FTD, Jenni Kayne, Shake Shack, Select Blinds and more. Gladly customers reported a 10% increase in contact center-generated revenue, 20% increase in agent efficiency and 40% reduction in contact center tools since adopting the software.
The impact of world-class customer service on a brand’s bottom line is profound as 42% of shoppers say they would stop buying from a brand altogether after just two bad service experiences. At the same time, loyal customers are 6x more likely to rebuy and recommend the brand to others. Gladly’s platform is built around people, not tickets, which gives the company and its customers an immediate advantage when it comes to customer service that creates customer loyalty.
Gladly’s growth comes not only from new customers, but from expanding relationships with existing customers. This year, Gladly achieved 170% 1-year Net Dollar Retention (NDR) and 267% 2-year NDR.
With Gladly, agents have context for who the customer is as soon as they reach out, and customers are matched with the best-fit agent. The platform consolidates all customer requests into one, lifelong conversation stream regardless of channels, which are built-in natively, so agents don’t have to switch channels or deal with duplicated issues. They can focus on delivering exceptional service, and building brand loyalty, without making the customer do more work.
“Our vision at Gladly has always been to change how customer service is done, and this new funding will position our team to continue delivering on this goal,” said Joseph Ansanelli, CEO of Gladly. “Our new partnership with Riverwood Capital will enable us to continue investing in innovation and growth to move customer service beyond cases and tickets to a more personalized experience creating customer loyalty – all leading to an improved bottom line for commerce brands.”
“At Riverwood Capital, we partner with companies that not only show great potential for growth but have a mission we can truly get behind,” said Jeff Parks, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Riverwood Capital and a new member of Gladly’s board. “With Gladly’s people-centered approach and innovative CX technology, it’s clear why the business has experienced so much success thus far. We are excited to be a part of the company’s continued expansion and are looking forward to working with the team as they transform the customer service industry.”
