GutCheck Closes Series A Funding for New Category of Market Research

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GutCheck (http://gutcheckit.com), a pioneering company in do-it-yourself, online qualitative market research, announced today that it has closed a $2 Million Series A round of funding. The round was led by Highway 12 Ventures, with Village Ventures, iModerate Research Technologies, Benenson Strategy Group and several notable entrepreneurs in the market research industry also participating.

“With GutCheck, businesses now have the option to gain feedback directly from their target customers in a real-time fashion, at a price that is a fraction of the cost of traditional methodologies”

This initial funding will allow GutCheck to support its growing sales and marketing initiatives, grow the available panel of respondents, and serve its growing number of customers.

“We're excited to have this group of investors on board to help carry out GutCheck’s mission of giving marketers and others the unique and affordable opportunity to surround their ideas, concepts and strategies with real-time feedback,” said Matt Warta, GutCheck Co-Founder and CEO. “Today, qualitative market research is generally done according to a model that is dated, inflexible and cost-prohibitive… if it’s done at all.”

GutCheck, currently in closed beta, connects businesses and marketers with 3.5 million qualified respondents through their proprietary, real-time recruitment engine. When a qualified match is found, GutCheck initiates an online, anonymous one-on-one chat where they can enter into a real-time exchange of information (e.g., Q&A, media, etc.). Businesses create projects with GutCheck for free, then pay $40 per chat. The resulting transcript is then available to download and email to colleagues. See a demo of GutCheck here.

As a result of the financing, George Mulhern of Highway 12 Ventures will join the company’s board of directors. Prior to Highway 12, Mulhern was the head of Hewlett Packard’s LaserJet Global Business Unit and earlier in his career, ran market research for Hewlett Packard's printer products.

“With GutCheck, businesses now have the option to gain feedback directly from their target customers in a real-time fashion, at a price that is a fraction of the cost of traditional methodologies,” said Mulhern.

About Highway 12 Ventures

Highway 12 Ventures is a leading venture capital fund investing in high-growth, entrepreneurial companies in the Intermountain West. With over $100 million under management, it is Idaho’s largest venture capital firm. Highway 12 Ventures is part of the Village Ventures nationwide network of venture capital funds. For more information, call 208-345-8383 or visit the Highway 12 Ventures website.

About Village Ventures

Village Ventures is a seed and early stage venture capital firm focusing on consumer media, retail, and financial services. The firm's strategy is to partner with leading entrepreneurs creating innovative products and solving complicated problems in those industries. For more information, visit the Village Ventures website.

About iModerate Research Technologies

iModerate Research Technologies was created to broaden the value of quantitative data obtained in online surveys. iModerate recognized the need to elucidate and breathe life into survey data, to bring quantitative and qualitative together, but researchers struggled to seamlessly mesh the two disciplines. Today, iModerate is the leader in online one-on-ones. For more information, visit the iModerate Research Technologies website.

About Benenson Strategy Group

The Benenson Strategy Group is a globally recognized strategic research and consulting firm with a reputation for being energetic, agile and analytically aggressive. The Benenson Strategy Group has helped clients win elections, launch new products, reposition brands, beat back competitive challenges and overcome public-affairs crises. For more information, visit the Benenson Strategy Group website.

About GutCheck

GutCheck is a company pioneering a new category of market research providing businesses with real-time feedback from their target customers through a do-it-yourself, qualitative online platform. GutCheck empowers businesses to connect and perform research at a time when they are ready and in need of feedback without being burdened by the logistics and costs of traditional research methods. GutCheck is a privately held company headquartered in Denver, CO. For more information, visit the GutCheck website.