California-based Accompany (virtual chief of staff) that develops a web and mobile based network and relationship management application that integrates users email, contacts and social feeds, has closed its alpha phase and is launching its beta program. Accompany has started accepting beta registrations and is allowing alpha users to invite friends. The company has also received a funding of $20.6 million from ICONIQ Capital,
Charles River Ventures (CRV) and
Cowboy Ventures.
The company’s alpha users have been working on it since the last three years and have offered feedback and insights for new features. It will be a closure for users like AMD Board Member Nora Denzel; Cowboy Venture’s Aileen Lee; Splunk Chairman Godfrey Sullivan; Dunkin’ Brands Director Irene Chang Britt; BareMinerals Founder Leslie Blodgett and numerous other C-suite executives, VPs, venture capitalists, professors, founders, and board members of private and public companies.
Amy Chang, CEO and Co-Founder of Accompany said:
We are so excited to show people this product that’s been three years in the making. We’ve spent the last year building out our data platform and executing on a tight feedback loop with our very vocal alpha testers. We’re ready to get you effortlessly prepped for all your meetings.
How does it work?
Accompany claims to turn the
calendar from a passive keeper to active contextual information which means right before a meeting or call, the user will just tap for a comprehensive profile on each person. It will draw up information about board seats, prior positions, alma maters, and common
contacts, as well as social media posts and latest news. The briefings are directly delivered to the inbox with locations, navigation via Waze or Google Maps, and ‘running late’ tests to attendees.
Accompany also states that it offers access to email history with a given contact via their profile and connects the dots by matching the corresponding information that the user is willing to know. It updates the user about the latest related news, for instance, which company has made acquisition or had a good financial year. Also, it keeps the user informed about the financials, funding history, SEC filings, notable board members, people who work there, and relevant news coverage.
The company claims that its iOS app and Web-based applications are advantageous for professionals, as it acts as ‘Chief of staff’ for managing network and relationships. It also combines user’s email, contacts, social, professional feeds, and calendars and scours publicly available sources to provide detailed briefings on meeting participants, real-time news alerts about contacts and companies, and comprehensive company profiles.
Devdutt Yellurkar, General Partner at CRV, board member and first investor in Accompany stated, “What Amy and the team have built is incredible. When the Accompany team first came to us, we saw an opportunity to be a part of a fundamental change in how people network. The virtual chief of staff experience Accompany delivered has vastly exceeded our expectations.”
