Encore Alert, a former Acceleprise startup in the B2B marketing sphere, is having a big month. The company, led by CEO James Li, just closed a $390,000 seed round and will add two full-time positions—one in sales and the other in marketing—to support its growth. Encore Alert is also a a semifinalist at the University of Maryland's
Cupid's Cup, taking place April 4.
Encore Alert, formerly known as Encore, is a
social media listening tool for marketers that sends stakeholders instant alerts when their brands pop up in social media conversations.
The startup's seed round was led by
NextGen Angels. "We raised a seed round with great local angels, plus a few from New York and San Francisco," Li says. "Our investors have huge strategic value for us. We're a young and hungry team." Li's team includes his cofounders, Felipe Lopes and Tammy Cho, and a developer he brought on full-time in the beginning of February. In addition to hiring support in sales and marketing, Li expects to be "a team of eight by the end of the calendar year."
Seed money often has strings attached; one string for Encore Alert is location based. Virginia's
Center for Innovation Technology (CIT) was an investor, and Encore Alert has relocated from Dupont Circle in D.C. to UberOffices in Rosslyn to comply with CIT's "mandate to create jobs in Virginia," explains Li. "We want to be a part of the plan for job creation in [the Commonwealth]."
Despite the close of the round, the company is still pitching. Encore Alert is eligible for UMD's Cupid's Cup, an entrepreneurial pitch competition for college students founded by Under Armour CEO and UMD grad Kevin Plank, because Cho is still attending Georgetown University and Li himself is a recent graduate. "[Cho is] having a great experience," Li says, "meshing the raise with what she is learning in class." The company stands to win $75,000 if it takes first place in the competition.
And the name change? Li says it's a "small rebranding that better reflects our value proposition. We send out alerts. We want people to remember us."