Funds for West Coast Researcher GroupSolver

US-based consumer research tech firm GroupSolver has completed a $1 million financing round, which will be used to expand the company's platform and increase its sales and marketing capabilities.

The round was led by the San Diego division of angel investor network Tech Coast Angels

GroupSolver's technology allows for open-ended answers to be quantified, capturing natural language feedback from online consumers rather than offering precodes. The firm says it will now add features and improve ease of use; raise its profile and consolidate its R&D team in San Diego in early 2018.

Founder and CEO Rastislav (Rasto) Ivanic comments: 'We first got our start here in San Diego, had applied to TCA but we were too early in our development. We raised an initial angel round that allowed us to build a dedicated product team in Slovakia and a sales team in Utah. When it came time to raise a seed round, we reapplied with TCA and were accepted... It is wonderful to be bringing R&D, an important part of our team, back to where we started in San Diego'. He adds: 'The fact is that our customers don't see their problems as 'surveys' in their heads, but they rather see a set of business questions that need to be answered in order to make a fact-based decision. Our novel approach is allowing these 'why' questions to be asked and answered in natural language dialogue, and backed up with real statistics'.

Dean Rosenberg, deal lead and VP at Tech Coast Angels San Diego, said he was impressed with GroupSolver's product and market traction, but even more so its leadership: 'Rasto has a 'big company' background working for some of the best, largest consulting practices in consumer research, and yet he also has the productivity and agility of a startup guy. This culture is evident across the company, from sales to product development'.

Web site: www.groupsolver.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.