Contact Networks Raises $1.6M in First Round Financing

Contact Networks Raises $1.6M in First Round Financing
Private Investors Include Search Industry Veterans 


BOSTON, March 21  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Contact Networks
(http://www.contactnetworks.com/), a leading next generation enterprise search
company, announced today the closing of its Series A funding.  The financing
round came from individual and institutional investors and includes the
founders and management of the successful search technologies TripAdvisor
(acquired by Interactive Corp, Nasdaq: IACI) and Direct Hit (acquired by
AskJeeves, Nasdaq: ASKJ).  The funding will be used to expand the sales,
marketing, and support teams and to accelerate Contact Networks' ability to
enter new markets.

Contact Networks provides an innovative and specialized form of search called
Enterprise Relationship Search that helps employees answer the common question
"who knows whom ..." in the corporate setting.  Relationships win business and
Contact Networks finds important business relationships that already exist
within a company.  It helps people take advantage of friendships, enabling them
to see hidden connections two or three degrees away in order to find new
clients or establish new sales.

"Enterprise Relationship Search is emerging as a business application that
drives revenue growth," said Geoffrey Hyatt, CEO of Contact Networks.  "If you
are responsible for sales, client development or business development, you want
more and better relationships with your prospects.  Discovering a colleague
down the hall or across the country who can make that initial introduction
helps to access and win that account."

Search Industry Veterans Invest

Additionally, investor Langley Steinert, Chairman and co-founder of
TripAdvisor, will join the Board of Advisors at Contact Networks.  Prior to
co-founding TripAdvisor, Steinert was VP of Marketing and Business Development
at the Internet commerce tools company Viaweb (acquired by Yahoo!). Additional
investors include Stephen Kaufer, CEO and co-founder of TripAdvisor, David
Parker, CEO of DigitalAdvisor and VP of Business Development of DirectHit and
several institutional investors.

"Enterprise search is a critical need in the corporate world.  While consumers
turn to Google and Yahoo for answers from the web, corporate employees also
want to mine the useful resources of their own company," remarked investor
Langley Steinert.  "For sales and business development, it is critical for
employees to leverage the existing relationships their colleagues already
possess.  Closing just one or two additional deals solidifies the ROI for an
application like Contact Networks."

About Contact Networks

Contact Networks is a leading provider of next generation enterprise search
solutions.  The application enables an organization to efficiently access and
utilize the relationships that employees have to outside contacts and
companies.  Sales and client development teams discover introductions to target
accounts that help win the deal.  For more information about Boston-

based Contact Networks, visit http://www.contactnetworks.com/ or call
617.305.7961.

  Contact:
   Lisa Allocca
   Red Javelin Communications, Inc.
   [phone]
   
   http://www.redjavelin.com/

DATASOURCE: Contact Networks



Contact:  Lisa Allocca of Red Javelin Communications, Inc.,

[phone], 



Web site:  http://www.contactnetworks.com/

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