Whale Path, a San Francisco, CA-based on-demand business research platform for corporate customers, received a $1.1m seed financing.
Backers included TMT Investments, Kima Ventures, 500 Startups, Altair Capital, FundersClub, Wefunder, and Ben Narasin.
Founded in 2012 by Artem Gassan and Colin Gu, Whale Path allows corporations to order custom research from its on-demand platform on key business decision points like Market Sizing and Competitive Analysis. It uses a ‘research challenge’ format to fulfill orders for custom research.
Customers request research by launching a Challenge and setting a price range for each data point as well as a maximum price for the entire project. Multiple analysts then perform research and upload data points and analysis to the platform. Whale Path reviews all data points for accuracy and validity and removes duplicates.
Customers receive multiple data point submissions and pay based on the accuracy and value each data point presents to them; then review all analysts’ responses and grant “kudos” with additional payments for sourcing most valuable and relevant data. Analysts who receive the most “kudos” gain access to future projects with higher payouts.
The company is a graduate of the 500 Startups accelerator.
FinSMEs
04/09/2014