Goldman Sachs Leads $54 Million Investment In Infusionsoft

I'm excited to report that today, Infusionsoft (my employer) announced a $54 Million investment from Goldman Sachs.

(Coming up at 12pm EST â€" 11 CRM Executives that matter to growing businesses…)

This is a clear indication that the world of small business and small business marketing & sales software, in particular, has just gotten much hotter.

The small business CRM (sales and marketing software) space is filled with many viable products, but there are not many (I'm tempted to say no one) who offers free technical support (phone, chat or email), and marketing campaigns as part of their offerings â€" besides Infusionsoft.

Many CRM vendors offer contact management, many offer auto responders, many offer email marketing, but few offer all of this and more, in one integrated package.

According to Infusionsoft's press release: Of the 27 million small businesses in the U.S., five million fit into Infusionsoft's target market of small businesses with two to 25 employees. These businesses are owner-operated, lack IT support, follow their buyers online and desperately need effective sales and marketing tools to succeed. Mid-market software and IT support is too expensive and complicated for small businesses, but simple sales and marketing tools can't effectively manage their growing businesses.

This market, these five million small businesses, sometimes called “true small businesses” are the most vibrant segment of the small business market. For example, stats state that half of small businesses do not have web sites. However, the other “half” of small businesses that do have web sites are growing faster and are often more mature and forward thinking than those who do not. This market is hungry for solutions to help them grow.

More on the investment from the press release:

“We believe Infusionsoft is the market leader in delivering an all-in-one sales and marketing software solution for true small businesses,” says Raheel Zia, managing director for Goldman Sachs Group. “Infusionsoft is a proven partner in working with small businesses and Goldman Sachs is pleased to be an investor in this highly innovative and unique company in the software as a service industry.”

The $54 million investment from Goldman Sachs, with participation from Arthur Ventures, will help fund Infusionsoft's future growth plans. To date, Infusionsoft has received a total of $71 million in funding. Goldman Sachs joins Mohr Davidow Ventures and Signal Peak as investors in Infusionsoft.