An Austin startup creating what it calls “a gated brain trust of the wisest in IT” has raised $4 million.
Wisegate announced Tuesday it has closed a Series B round led by new investor Arcus Capital Partners. Prior investors the Central Texas Angel Network, Atlanta Technology Angels, Golden Seeds, and Cowtown Angels also participated. The new cash brings the total raised by Wisegate since it was founded in 2010 to $8 million.
Wisegate is a knowledge brokerage focused on enterprise IT. The company has created a network of industry experts it can connect to its customers, and it’s a list that has been screened to keep out vendors.
The purpose is to connect enterprise IT professionals in a way that disseminates knowledge faster than traditional consultants and research analysts can, said Ross Singletary, Arcus Capital Partners managing partner.
“The traditional analyst firm model of research and reporting cannot move at the pace of technology today, leaving a gap in the market that Wisegate’s social and matching algorithms help to fill,” he said in a press release.
In addition to speed, Wisegate said its experts are able to offer more detailed and specific advice for customers in comparison to the industry-level analysis traditional firms sell.
Wisegate also organizes roundtable calls. Those conversations between clients and its experts then can be turned into content that’s shared with other Wisegate users. The company creates white papers and industry analysis as well.
Wisegate will use the round to hire people for product marketing, customer care, and sales, the release said. It also said the company is “nearing profitability” and has doubled the amount of contract value in the past two quarters.
