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Venture Capital News: Stellar Loyalty Nets $4M

2016-02-09
FOSTER CITY, CA, Stellar Loyalty, the consumer relationship company, today announced $4MM in new funding, completing its Series A round totaling $9MM.
This latest investment represents a second infusion of funds led by TDF Ventures along with InterWest Partners. The new financing round will be used to accelerate Stellar Loyalty's European expansion. The company also announced the appointment of 25-year industry veteran Mario Invernizzi to lead its EMEA business unit.

'In a very short period of time, Stellar Loyalty has gained notable traction by solving a long-standing problem for brands the world over -- specifically, how to engage with, reward and satisfy consumers on consumers' own terms,' said Steve Mankoff, general partner at TDF Ventures. 'The Stellar Loyalty team has changed the market dynamics with a modern, mobile-best SaaS solution, and we believe they are poised to capture robust market share in the global loyalty market.'

The loyalty management solutions market is estimated to grow from US $1.4 Billion in 2015 to US $4.0 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 23.2% during the forecast period.* North America remains the largest user market of loyalty solutions, followed by Europe. The retail, travel and hospitality, and IT and telecommunication sectors are driving the growth estimates in the EMEA region. Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa all represent high-growth market opportunities as companies in these geographies increase investments in consumer loyalty and engagement solutions.

'Across multiple industry sectors we have seen brands replacing legacy systems in favor of the Stellar solution, and new entrants recognizing the competitive advantage of personalized, mobile consumer engagement and transactions,' noted Bruce Cleveland, general partner at InterWest Partners. 'We have tremendous confidence in the Stellar Loyalty leadership team to capitalize on new market opportunities both domestically and abroad.'

Appointment of Mario Invernizzi
As part of its strategic growth plan, Stellar Loyalty has established its EMEA business under the proven leadership of Mario Invernizzi. As the company's EMEA Vice President and General Manager, Invernizzi brings 25+ years of expertise in building successful business and sales operations fueled by strong partner relationships and go-to-market strategies. His experience in enterprise software includes senior leadership roles for multi-national companies, such as Sybase, Microfocus, DataSynapse and TIBCO. Prior to joining Stellar Loyalty, Invernizzi developed the EMEA business for the LoyaltyLab division within TIBCO, successfully delivering profitable business results and establishing his credibility as a leading regional expert on the loyalty / CRM B2C / SaaS markets.

'We couldn't be more excited to have Mario leading our expansion into the EMEA markets,' said Kevin Nix, co-founder and CEO of Stellar Loyalty. 'He is one of the most experienced and respected professionals in the loyalty market. From his strong client relationships to trusted strategic partnerships, Mario's reputation proceeds him. We are gratified to have his leadership and validation of our platform. Mario has hit the ground running, building an experienced team in Europe and attracting a high quality ecosystem of partners and customers. This latest investment will solidify our European expansion and spur our global growth.'

*MarketsandMarkets 2015 Report on Loyalty Management Market

ABOUT TDF VENTURES

TDF Ventures is a venture capital firm that targets Series A stage start-ups. It focuses on Infrastructure, Software and Services (IaaS, SaaS, XaaS) which includes the technology required to build networks to the services those networks deliver. For more information, visit www.tdfventures.com.

ABOUT InterWest Partners

InterWest Partners invests in some of the world's most promising early stage IT and healthcare businesses. For over 35 years InterWest Partners has partnered with entrepreneurs to build winning companies. With more than 200 years of operating and investing experience, InterWest has raised $2.8 billion, completed 85 IPOs, and participated in over 80 upside acquisitions. Learn more at www.interwest.com.

ABOUT STELLAR LOYALTY

Our mission is to bring delight and value to every consumer experience by enabling brands to instantly recognize, engage and reward their loyal customers across the network of digital, physical and human interactions. Founded in 2014 and funded by InterWest Partners and TDF Ventures, Stellar Loyalty is privately held with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more details please visit www.stellarloyalty.com or follow Stellar Loyalty on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @StellarLoyalty

Stellar Loyalty is a trademark of Stellar Loyalty Inc. All other brands, products or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
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