PowerReviews raises $6.1 Million in venture financing

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San Francisco: PowerReviews, a provider of customer reviews and social commerce solutions to retailers and brands, has secured $6.1 million in additional financing led by current investors Menlo Ventures and Tenaya Capital. The additional funding will fuel current customer acquisition momentum and drive new product development. "Ratings and reviews have become an essential part of the online shopping process, and PowerReviews plays a central role in helping brands, retailers, and consumers benefit from them," says Pehr Luedtke, CEO of PowerReviews. "This additional capital will allow us to expand our product suite, drive increased market awareness, and attract talent. I am fortunate to work with top-tier investors who share my conviction that PowerReviews will continue to play a meaningful role in social commerce." Also as the Vice President of Engineering, Gautam Prabhu is responsible for leading the engineering efforts to provide world-class technology and social merchandising solutions to clients. Founded in 2006, the San Francisco based PowerReviews' tag-based approach to collecting, organizing, structuring and analyzing user-generated content significantly boosts product sales and customer engagement. Recognized as the customer reviews Solution Leader in the Internet Retailer Top 500 survey, PowerReviews works with over 850 retailers and brands on over 2700 websites, including Staples, Drugstore.com, Gardener's Supply, Diapers.com, Callaway and Jockey. In addition to its Enterprise solution, PowerReviews offers an on-demand solution for small- and medium-sized businesses called PowerReviews Express. In September 2009, PowerReviews announced two new products - BrandConnect and Social Megaphone – to address the brands and retailers' expressed need to connect with social media. "I originally invested in this company with the hypothesis that product reviews would become a vital part of the consumer shopping experience," says John Jarve, Managing Director, Menlo Ventures. "That hypothesis has turned out to be true, and I am glad to be funding a company with not only unparalleled technology but also a deep understanding of the current and future needs of retailers, brands and consumers."