CRM startup Intercom snags a $6M first round of funding

Intercom, a software startup that promises to simplify customer relationship management (CRM), has just announced a healthy first round of funding.

The $6 million infusion was led by the Social+Capital Partnership with participation from previous investor Freestyle Capital and David Sacks, the founder and chief executive officer of Yammer.

Intercom’s software helps sales and marketing folks handle tasks like newsletter distribution, life-cycle marketing, customer support, and new customer development.

As a rep said in an email to VentureBeat, the company feels that “web businesses have the potential to re-create the old pub experience, where businesses know every customer by name, their interests, and what makes them happiest in order to better serve them.” Think Cheers, but everybody knows your name because you live in a well-organized database containing all kinds of personal details about your life and purchasing habits.

“For too many companies, the process of reaching out to a customer looks like this: Pull up the help desk to view submitted tickets, check user backgrounds on separate CRM software, and use the email-marketing program to send all users with a similar issue the same generic email even though the email-automation software sent those people a completely mistargeted email the day before,” said Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe in a statement on the funding news.

“It’s incredibly hard to provide great customer service when you have to use four disconnected tools. Companies end up spamming these customers because they don’t have the power to target and personalize.”

The $6 million Series A follows a 2012 seed round of $1.75 million from Freestyle, 500 Startups, and various and assorted angel investors.

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