(**Please Note: Since this post was published, Contest Builder has been rebranded; it is now Compete. Learn more here.)
LevelEleven, a new company focused on enterprise gamification and CRM solutions, today announced its official launch with $1 million in seed funding led by Detroit Venture Partners with an equity stake from ePrize.
Originally developed and incubated at ePrize, the new company will be headquartered in Motor City’s innovation hub in downtown Detroit. Bob Marsh, a 13-year veteran of ePrize, will serve as CEO for LevelEleven and Josh Linkner, CEO/Managing Partner of Detroit Venture Partners, will join the board. The company also recently hired a new vice president of engineering, Kevin O’Hara, a seasoned Salesforce, cloud-computing and web developer.
LevelEleven’s flagship product is the sales gamification app, Contest Builder. First conceptualized at ePrize as a way to motivate its own sales team, Contest Builder launched at Dreamforce in September 2011 giving companies new ways to engage and motivate sales teams around any activity within Salesforce, which in turn drives significant increases in Salesforce adoption. For example, a sales manager can create a contest and real time leaderboard in minutes to reward making more calls, booking client meetings, finding new sales opportunities or closing more business.
“For 13 years, brands have relied on ePrize to guide them through evolving online, social and mobile marketplaces. Gamification and rewarding behavior have been the foundation of our promotions and loyalty technology platforms. We’re proud that the constant innovation coming out of our company is driving Detroit’s economic growth and this successful incubation and launch of LevelEleven is testament to that,” said Matt Wise, CEO of ePrize.
Ranked the most popular gamification app on the Salesforce AppExchange, Contest Builder’s rapid adoption has been underscored by a growing client list that includes Comcast, the Detroit Pistons, Concur Technologies and many others. The recent success established by Contest Builder led to the formation of LevelEleven, which will continue to develop new products that provide gamification tools to motivate sales teams and service-related organizations, such as call centers.
“We are thrilled to invest in LevelEleven and its CEO Bob Marsh,” said Josh Linkner, CEO/Managing Partner of Detroit Venture Partners. “The Salesforce AppExchange marketplace is exploding in the same way Apple’s AppStore did a few years back. LevelEleven’s proven sales gamification platform is already being embraced by large brand customers and with Bob’s leadership we expect continued momentum. LevelEleven is poised for breakaway success. What ePrize did to the consumer promotion industry, LevelEleven is doing to the enterprise.”
Located in the Madison Building, LevelEleven is continuing to hire for its sales and development teams. For more information, visit www.leveleleven.com.
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About ePrize
ePrize is the global leader in digital and mobile engagement. The company’s multi-channel engagement solutions enable the world’s largest brands to continue the dialogue from web to social to mobile, all the way to POS on a single unified platform. Last year, more than 50% of the Fortune 500 and many world-class agencies relied on ePrize’s creative, technology and legal services. Since 1999, ePrize has created thousands of promotions, CRM and loyalty campaigns in 44 countries for clients like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, The Gap, MillerCoors, Lenovo, NHL, Yahoo!, P&G and AT&T. Headquartered in Detroit, ePrize also has offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle. ePrize acquired a division of Apollo Data Technologies in 2011, and Cellit, a mobile solutions company, in 2012. Catterton Partners, a consumer-focused private equity firm, acquired ePrize in August 2012.
About LevelEleven
LevelEleven develops enterprise gamification and CRM solutions that help sales and other managers keep their teams focused on the right things. The company’s flagship product, Contest Builder, is a salesforce.com app that gives companies new ways to motivate salespeople to make more calls, book more meetings, and close more business, which in turn spikes adoption of Salesforce. Originally developed by digital engagement leader ePrize, Contest Builder debuted at Dreamforce in September 2011 and launched as its own company, LevelEleven, in October 2012. Contest Builder is the #1 most popular gamification app in the Salesforce AppExchange, and clients include Comcast, InsideView, the Detroit Pistons and Dominion Enterprises among many others. LevelEleven is based in Detroit, Michigan, and part of the Detroit Venture Partners portfolio of companies.
About Detroit Venture Partners
Detroit Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in seed and early-stage technology companies with a strong emphasis on Detroit-based startups. In addition to capital, the company provides hands-on coaching, mentorship, support, and resources to help drive growth and success. The firm was founded in 2010 by Josh Linkner, Dan Gilbert and Brian Hermelin and joined in 2011 by Earvin “Magic” Johnson as its fourth partner. By backing the next generation of Detroit entrepreneurs, DVP aims to create jobs, urban density, and hope. For more on Detroit Venture Partners, visit http://detroitventurepartners.com/.
