More Unilever Funds for Online Qual Firm Discuss.io

Seattle-based Discuss.io has raised $880k from Unilever Ventures and other existing investors, to expand its video conferencing and crowdsourcing-based group discussion solution. Cash will be used to recruit engineers, sales and marketing staff.

Unilever is a client of the firm, using it to collect consumer feedback for brands including Degree and Lipton, according to www.geekwire.com . The consumer giant's venture capital and private equity arm led the latest round, and also led a round in the Spring totalling $1.4m. The company originally raised $155,000 at the Seattle Angel Conference in 2014.

CEO and founder Zach Simmons (pictured), a former Amazon Web Services product manager, told GeekWire business had grown by 1,000 percent in less than a year, and said the 29-person company would be doubling its sales and marketing team.

Unilever's high profile CMO Keith Weed said earlier this year in a statement: 'Over the last year, Discuss.io has achieved significant impact on Unilever's consumer closeness in local markets. Global research studies that used to take months now take days'.

Web site: www.discuss.io .