Feature Articles

The news that Marketo raised another $50 million in new venture financing has turned the spotlight on to the marketing automation and Revenue Performance Management categories. While the new round, led by Battery Ventures, highlighted the continued growth of Marketo and the two categories, talk of a 2012 IPO has drawn increased scrutiny on the financial performance of the emerging sectors.

In announcing the new round, Marketo CEO Phil Fernandez pointed out that the company 2010 revenue came in at $14 million, and projected sales in 2011 would grow by 140%, putting revenue in the $35 million range. He also forecasted that Marketo’s revenue would double in 2012, and said there is a “strong possibility” of an IPO in the next 12 to 15 months.

In total, Marketo has raised $107 million since its 2006 inception. From the $107 million raised, Marketo said it has $70 million available in the bank, and plans to use this for growth, both internationally and in product development, in the coming year.

Many BtoB organizations rely on demo tools to help convert prospects into customers by providing immediate visibility into the solution’s value proposition. Atlanta, GA-based Reed Construction Data delivers targeted and timely project information, cost data and market intelligence designed to simplify decision-making for Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) professionals throughout North America.

Rather than using a manual demo, Reed had used a homegrown demo system that gave prospects access to its production data for a short period of time. Because the access was ungated, many prospects used the system to simply access the data they need without ultimately purchasing from Reed.