ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Drum launched today with nearly $11 million in seed funding, unveiling the first instantly available, massively scalable and completely flexible sales force platform. Investors participating in the round include Propel Venture Partners, Felicis Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, American Express Ventures, GroTech Ventures, Wildcat Venture Partners, BoxGroup and SV Angel.
“Now, standing up a sales force is easier than launching a Google AdWords campaign,” said Rob Frohwein, co-founder and CEO of Drum. “With Drum, businesses of all types, from digital brands to local small businesses, can launch sales efforts in any geography, in real time, giving them a sales boost where, when and how they want.”
The Drum platform leverages the power of the gig economy to give companies a new channel for customer acquisition to help them scale and compete. Businesses now have a compelling alternative to traditional advertising and digital marketing, through which they can more easily measure success and pay for conversions rather than clicks. Through Drum, businesses have access to gig contractors, known as Drummers, who can promote their products and services in and out of their personal network and generate income while doing so.
Drum has an experienced leadership team including co-founders Rob Frohwein, Kathryn Petralia and Troy Deus. Frohwein and Petralia are also the co-founders of Kabbage, Inc. where they continue to steer the leading data and technology company offering automated cash flow solutions to small businesses. To-date, Kabbage has provided more than 200,000 small businesses with access to nearly $8 billion in working capital.
“Drum unlocks a three-sided marketplace connecting any business to the customers they want through an on-demand network of salespeople,” said Harshul Sanghi, Managing Partner at American Express Ventures. “This has the potential to dramatically accelerate new product introduction and customer acquisition for businesses. Amex Ventures is pleased to support Drum in its future growth.”
Drum recently launched its optimized browser experience for businesses (to promote products and services) at www.drum.io and its iOS and Android apps for Drummers (the gig economy participants who sell on behalf of the businesses). During the first month, Drum will focus on filling the ecosystem with Drummers and offers from businesses in its first two cities of Atlanta and New York. The Buyer application launches in mid-October, enabling the three-sided market to fully function in these geographies.
About Drum
Drum, headquartered in Atlanta, has created the first and only on-demand network sales force platform. Drummers can earn by directly selling and when (a) a business they recruit sells through the platform, (b) a buyer they activate purchases through Drum, and (c) a Drummer they sign up successfully sells. Drum is backed by Propel Venture Partners, Felicis Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, American Express Ventures, GroTech Ventures, Wildcat Venture Partners, BoxGroup and SV Angel among others. To learn more visit http://www.drum.io.
