Local marketing software firm Perq on Monday announced it has secured $6 million in growth capital.
The funding, led by Louisville-based Poplar Ventures, came exclusively from Midwest sources. Other investors joining the round included Elevate Ventures, Allos Ventures, Collina Ventures, 4G Ventures, Great Blue Venture, Jupiter Peak, Tim Kopp and four other local angel investors.
The Series A funding round follows a $5.5 million seed round that closed October 2018, which was led by Elevate Ventures and nine other Indianapolis-based investors, including many that are represented again in this round.
The most recent funding is expected to fuel the growth of Perq’s artificial intelligence-driven marketing cloud for big-ticket retailers, company officials said.
When Hanover College graduates Andy Medley and Scott Hill started Perq in 2001, neither had tech backgrounds or connections in venture capital. In fact, the company they launched wasn’t technology-related at all.
But after a hard pivot and re-brand in 2014, Perq now boasts a software platform with more than 1,000 subscribers. The company, which has more than 115 employees, has seen revenue more than double in each of the last three years, officials said.
Perq raised $1.7 million in its first venture capital haul in late 2016.
“The funds raised during our Series A will provide more than ample capital to support the continued growth and development of the Perq Marketing Cloud and our innovative marketing technology solutions,” Medley said in a written statement.
“Perq’s growth and its outstanding customer results, along with the $10B-plus addressable market size, drove our decision to invest,” John Willmoth, Poplar Ventures managing partner, said in written comments.