'Survey-Wall' Firm Survata Raises $6m

San Francisco-based DIY consumer survey specialist Survata has raised $6m in a Series A round of funding, which will be used to improve its current offerings and build new products, and to hire new members of staff.

Founded in 2012 by childhood friends and University of Notre Dame alumni Aaron Wenger and Chris Kelly, Survata operates a network of 'survey-walls' on affiliate sites - these are similar to pay-walls except that a short survey must be completed to get access to free content including articles, music, videos and downloads. In February, the firm launched a consumer feedback API, through which developers can obtain answers to questions from their app on demand.

The company's new funding has been led by IDG Ventures, with participation from Bloomberg Beta, Alexis Ohanian and Garry Tan, and angels including former MarketTools SVP Tom Patterson, along with existing investors SoftTech and PivotNorth. The investment adds to the $1.5m seed round the firm secured in 2013. New funds will be used to build new products such as trackers, API implementations, B2B research products, and other subscription tools. The firm will also use some of the investment to grow its Publisher Network, and for a dedicated full time employee devoted to managing the network.

Kelly (pictured) comments: 'In the last year, we've grown from just a few co-workers in a converted loft apartment to over a dozen employees in a great new office in SOMA. Our growth has been very rewarding, but we're excited to keep building Survata into the best possible market research company in the industry. We love serving leading consumer product companies, ad agencies, and hedge funds, and thousands of other clients. We can't wait to serve more'.

Web site: www.survata.com .