Loyalty rewards company Belly today announced that they secured $12.1 million in a Series B-1 round of venture capital financing from New Enterprise Associates, Andreessen Horowitz, DAG Ventures, Lightbank, Cisco, and 7-Ventures. That brings their total VC funded budget, which is dedicated to expansion, to $28 million.
Over the past 24 months, Belly has established their position as a leader in the loyalty marketing game, working with over 50 national chains in over 700 locations. Any location that hops on board gets hooked up with the entire tech platform from Belly, including the in-store tablet, marketing materials, and backend analytics.
“We are impressed with the adoption of Belly’s core product of customer loyalty, but it is the depth of the consumer interaction Belly fosters that most excites us,” says Tom Grossi, partner at NEA. “Belly’s in-store tablets are becoming a gateway for its merchants to initiate lasting connections with their customers.”
Belly’s platform gives merchants a way to digitally connect with their customers through a tailored rewards program. That is, businesses can bring customers back more often, establish social connections, facilitate online customer reviews, target new customers, and gain data on customer behavior.
It is clear that the aim for Belly in the near future is to expand the geographical reach of their loyalty rewards program, focusing on large enterprise customers. The company has a little over 100 employees and is on track to stay profitable without any further funding.
“We view this round as validation for what we have built,” says Logan LaHive, CEO of Belly. “But we remain fully aware of all that we still need to accomplish.”