Seed Funds for 'Trusted' Product Review Site Experify

Palo Alto-based verified product review specialist Experify has raised $4m in a seed round of funding, which it will use to increase headcount, specifically in the sales and product engineering teams; expand its customer base; and further develop its platform.

Experify's platform connects prospective buyers with real purchasers, to enable consumers to speak with a genuine product owner or even test out that product in person - creating 'trusted communities of loyal consumers'. According to the firm, buyers can feel confident making purchases after having first-hand experience or hearing an 'honest review' from someone who already knows the product.

New funding has been led by Vertex Ventures US, with participation from Sonae Investment Management and the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund. CEO and co-founder René Pfitzner (pictured) comments: 'Our vision for Experify is to completely change the way that consumers buy products and evaluate online businesses through an authentic, scalable word-of-mouth experience. Over the last year, we've helped a variety of great companies activate their community of customers like never before'.

Web site: www.experify.io .