Apptentive, which offers tools to mobile app developers to solicit in-app feedback from users, has scored $1.2 million in seed funding from Founder’s Co-Op, Google Ventures, Social Leverage, Golden Venture Partners, along with some of Seattle’s leading angel investors. The startup, whose founders include alumni from Microsoft, Yahoo!, Apple, and Greystripe, says it will use the injection of capital to further product development and build out its operations.
Apptentive enables iOS and Android app developers to integrate customer feedback right inside their apps, rather than trying to communicate with users solely via app store reviews, social media and direct contact. With a few lines of code, developers can hook into Apptentive’s SDK/service to add a new customer feedback and communication channel, including support for things like conducting in-app research using surveys, and initiating conversations directly with users, all of which it is claimed leads to higher app store ratings and increased customer retention — and it certainly makes sense to have all of this going on within the app itself, at the very moment an app publisher already has the user’s attention.
To date, Apptentive, which recently graduated from the Seattle accelerator TechStars, claims “hundreds of customers” including Yahoo!, Urbanspoon and Savings.com.
Along with an impressive list of institutional investors, the list of angels also joining today’s round includes Mike McSherry of Swype; Dan Shapiro of Sparkbuy; Geoff Entress, a board member at Big Fish Games; and Gaylord Kellogg, an early investor in Amazon and Aquantive.