Lightbank Invests in Sprout Social, an Innovative Provider of Social Relationship Management (SRM) Services

Sprout Social joins Where I've Been and Poggled as the third investment in Groupon founders' fund

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sprout Social, an innovative provider of social relationship management (SRM) services, has received a Series A round of funding from Lightbank, the recently launched investment vehicle created by Groupon founders Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell. Sprout Social is currently in closed beta and will use the capital infusion for its formal launch later this spring, as well as to expand its service offering.

“Lightbank is excited to be partnering with Sprout Social to change the way businesses harness the social web.”

Sprout Social is pioneering the “SRM” space with its social media platform, allowing businesses to connect to customers in a more meaningful way, understand what customers are saying about them, achieve targeted audience growth, and monitor key metrics and the overall competitive landscape. The Sprout Social platform, featuring the Social Dashboard, integrates with major social networks and includes lead generation, business intelligence, offer and promotion distribution services, as well as brand monitoring and analytics. Sprout Social has combined critical components of any marketing and business development strategy into a simple and easy-to-use interface.

“Even the most sophisticated companies have trouble effectively navigating the social channels on the web. For a business to stay competitive today, social media has to be a top priority. Sprout Social has built a platform that makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to make social connections, and turn those connections into loyal customers,” said Keywell. “Lightbank is excited to be partnering with Sprout Social to change the way businesses harness the social web.”

“The Lightbank team has a solid track record of superior execution and reaching massive scale by leveraging disruptive technology. We’re thrilled to add their horsepower and expertise to our team!” said Justyn Howard, CEO and co-founder of Sprout Social.

“We’re passionate about giving every business an opportunity to improve their bottom line through social channels, while reducing the resources and learning curve required to do it well. With this financing round, Sprout Social is well positioned to bring our services to even more businesses."

About Sprout Social:

Sprout Social allows businesses to efficiently and effectively manage & grow their social presence across channels and turn social connections into loyal customers. The web application integrates with Twitter, Facebook Pages, Yelp, LinkedIn, FourSquare and other networks where consumers are engaging with businesses and brands. In addition to communication tools, Sprout Social offers contact management, competitive insight, lead generation, analytics and more – all in a package that’s intuitive and easy to use. For more information, visit http://www.sproutsocial.com.

About Lightbank:

Lightbank is a Chicago-based fund focused on early-stage technology companies. Founded by Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, who started Groupon, MediaBank, InnerWorkings and Echo Global Logistics, Lightbank invests money, time and expertise to help innovative businesses achieve dynamic growth. For more information, visit http://www.lightbank.com.