Safeguard Scientifics, the Wayne-based, venture capital firm, is backing a young company and neighbor in Greater Philadelphia. At $5.5 million, it's a relatively small investment for Safeguard, but a highly promising one, says Erik Rasmussen, Safeguard's managing director, technology.
Clutch Holdings in Ambler is, according to Safeguard, the only mobile commerce platform that unifies gifting, loyalty programs and shopping. “We started looking heavily at the loyalty and gifting space on e-commerce,” says Rasmussen. “And very few companies offer one platform for in-store, web and mobile devices.”
And, adds Rasmussen, studies show that retailers with loyalty and gifting programs see 46% more purchases.
Still, it wasn't only the product and technology that drew the venture capital. Ned Moore, who founded Clutch with Andy O'Dell and Dan Guy, has a track record with Safeguard. Previously, he was co-founder, chairman and CEO of Portico Systems, which provided enterprise software solutions into the healthcare payer market. Portico was a Safeguard partner company from 2006 to 2011, when it was acquired by McKesson, a large, San Francisco-based healthcare services company, for $90 million in cash, generating a four-time, cash-on-cash return for Safeguard.
Clutch says it will use the new financing to further develop its mobile commerce platform. The company recently acquired ProfitPoint, a leading supplier of loyalty and gifting. A spokesman for Clutch says the company currently employs over 30 and expects to double its team over the next two to three years.
Source: Erik Rasmussen, Safeguard Scientifics
Writer: Elise Vider