Experticity
|
Influence the conversations that influence what people buy | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Technology |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Headquarters |
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
| Products | business software, retail |
| Website | www.experticity.com |
Experticity is a Salt Lake City, UT-based company that helps brands and retailers improve retail conversations through education, product seeding and by offering first-hand product experience to retail sales associates and category-specific experts.[1] The company has two web-based services: 3point5.com, which brands and retailers use to deliver interactive product trainings for retail sales associates, and ProMotive.com, which brands use to facilitate product trials with experts and enthusiasts.[2]
History
The company was founded in 2004 by Paul Kirwin under the name 3point5, Inc. (referencing the fact that 3.5 feet was considered the optimal distance between two people in a one-one-one conversation).[3] Kirwin's idea was to create an entertaining, web-based training platform for retail salespeople using brand discounts to incentivize them to complete training.
Built on Kirwin’s television news background, Kirwin Productions was founded in 1985 and specialized in creating videos to train retail salespeople on a brand’s new technology and products.[4] It was here that Kirwin got the idea of training retail salespeople online.
In 2007, 3point5 acquired Influence Technologies, which among other things operated a discount marketplace for influencers called BroForm.com.[5] BroForm was renamed Promotive.
In 2009, the company changed its name to Swarm Builder.[6] The same year, it purchased a platform and named it ProMotive.com.[7] In 2010, the company was ranked 100th on Inc. magazine’s list of 500 Fastest Growing Companies.[8]
In 2012, SwarmBuilder was rebranded as eXperticity.,[9] based on the idea that when buying a product, everyone wants to get advice from an expert. The name “eXperticity” was purchased from an unrelated Seattle based-business.[10] Today, 3point5 and Promotive are both services offered under the name Experticity.
Products
3point5.com[11] trains retail sales associates across various industries through a patented “Edu-Game” format.[12] When sales associates complete Edu-Games demonstrating product knowledge, they are rewarded with gratis or discounted products from the brand sponsoring the training.
ProMotive.com is an online marketplace for experts with significant personal and professional industry influence. ProMotive.com automates brand incentive programs and rewards industry professionals and influencers with product offers, discounts, samples and insider knowledge applicable to their field of expertise.
Each of the Experticity platforms displays users’ expert score, which is a composite blend of product knowledge, purchases and professional experience.[13]
Executive Leadership
Tom Stockham is the CEO of Experticity, having served on the company’s board of directors since 2007.[14] He was formerly CEO and president of Ancestry.com and president of Ticketmaster.com.
References
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/experticity http://business.transworld.net/139870/features/retail-101-experticity-helps-educate-shop-staff-brands/ http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2009/07/15/3point5com-changing-its-name#.U1WUw_ldWSp http://www.signalpeakvc.com/news/29/19/Parent-of-3point5-com-Re-named-SwarmBuilder http://www.vspring.com/news/91/19/SwarmBuilder-Rebrands-as-eXperticity http://www.vspring.com/news/91/19/SwarmBuilder-Rebrands-as-eXperticityhttp://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2010/08/seattle_startup_experticity_ceases_operations_after_eight_years.html http://www.crunchbase.com/company/3point5-com http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/25/idUS115441+25-Jan-2012+BW20120125 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/25/idUS115441+25-Jan-2012+BW20120125 http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/26/idUS116183+26-Aug-2010+BW20100826 http://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-stockham/