Grasp (previously Casengo) raises $2 million to accelerate growth

Cloud application for customer support empowers companies to respond faster, better and more personally

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Summary

A consortium of European investors led by venture capital firm henQ injects $2 million (€1.5 million) into Grasp (previously Casengo). This cloud application empowers companies to respond to their customers faster and better, without losing the human touch. Grasp, launched in December 2012, is now used by over 2,300 businesses worldwide.

In the age of social media, poor customer service can lead to real-time trouble. The minute Twitter and Facebook gave customers a voice, they used it to punish disservice: people love sharing their negative experiences with the world. ‘By treating social media posts with the same importance as emails, companies are on their way to gain more happy customers,’ says founder Floris van der Veen. ‘With Grasp, nothing slips through the cracks.’

Grasp (previously Casengo) mixes support software like Zendesk, Desk.com and Freshdesk with chat applications like Olark, Zopim and LiveChat. By introducing a clever blend of email, chat and social media, Grasp helps businesses reply to customer questions faster and better. ‘Our software allows companies, however small, to offer live chat to their online visitors,’ says Floris. ‘On top of that, it allows their team to easily manage incoming emails and social posts.’

Gain and retain more customers

Venture capital firm henQ leads a group of European investors who inject $2 million in Grasp. ‘We see that retaining existing customers is getting at least as important as gaining new ones,’ says Herman Hintzen, henQ’s managing partner. ‘Customer service is a huge growth market. Using Grasp, even small businesses can now continuously improve the responses they give to their customers. Grasp’s experienced team made the application from scratch as an international, multilingual platform. That makes it stand out from its – mainly American – competitors.’

In December 2012, Grasp launched out of beta. Its extremely user-friendly and responsive application, made specifically for small businesses, is now being used by over 2,300 companies. They enjoy turning emails into chat conversations, with or without a chat button on their website. Grasp sends all messages, wherever they come from, straight to one single team inbox. It is about the message, not the medium.

Grasp’s founders, Floris and Thijs van der Veen, know the market inside out. Back in 2003, the two brothers launched Livecom, a customer support application aimed at large enterprises such as Philips, BMW and ABN AMRO. Livecom is currently active in 27 countries.

About Grasp (previously Casengo)

Grasp’s cloud application for customer support empowers online retailers and other small businesses to respond to customer questions faster and better than ever. One team inbox for customer chats, emails and social media posts. Passionately founded in 2011, devised and developed in Amsterdam.

About henQ Invest - http://henq.nl

Venture capital firm henQ Invest provides support for early stage technology companies and entrepreneurs. Investing in young companies enables henQ to gain substantial influence on their strategy, operations and marketing. At the same time, henQ is a sparring partner for the company’s management, continuously helping them to improve and grow the company. 

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Quotes

We see that retaining existing customers is getting at least as important as gaining new ones. Customer service is a huge growth market. Using Grasp, even small businesses can now continuously improve the responses they give to their customers. Casengo’s experienced team made the application from scratch as an international, multilingual platform. That makes it stand out from its – mainly American – competitors.

By treating social media posts with the same importance as emails, companies are on their way to gain more happy customers. With Grasp, nothing slips through the cracks.