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Online small and midsize business lead generation and social networking startup Company.com announced the launch of its Website, a social community for businesses that offers a questions-and-answers network, editorial reviews, customer rankings, exclusive deals and a vetted vendor marketplace providing solutions targeted specifically to small businesses. The Company.com vendor marketplace provides personalized vendor comparisons, editorial reviews and the company’s recommendations. In the future, Company.com said it would offer customer ratings and savings calculators.
Vendor participants hail from 50 specific service categories the company believes is most widely used by SMBs, including lead generation, human-resources outsourcing and business loans. The company built its offering around three needs small businesses have: saving money, turning profits and growing the business. Company.com provides side-by-side comparisons of business needs, from sources of credit and corporate credit cards to health insurance and 401K plans to telecom/VOIP and security and backup vendors, allows subscribers to register to participate in the vendor marketplace and access to sources of funding and capital.
Company.com also features a questions-and-answers network, which the company said it hopes will encourage business owners, entrepreneurs and executives to talk to each other and help them communicate directly with potential clients and partners. In addition, Company.com said it would offer special coupons, exclusive offerings and bundled savings packages via its vendor marketplace partners and distribution partnerships such as On Deck Capital, BizFilings, Century Payments and Hyperoffice.
The company’s CEO and Chairman Bill Wade argued even in the best of times, the number of critical decisions faced by small business owners is overwhelming. “With today’s economy hitting America’s small and midsize businesses the hardest, it is even more important that the business owner know their available options, which solutions are best suited for their needs and the comfort to know they are putting their trust in a reputable vendor,” he said. “Company.com is the answer to this challenge, providing viable solutions for business credit, IT, benefits, finance, lead generation and dozens of other categories.”
“Main Street small businesses need a comprehensive one-stop shop for all the tools required to build and expand their business, and Company.com provides that,” said Mitch Jacobs, CEO of On Deck Capital. “Through On Deck’s partnership with Company.com, our customers will gain access to products, services and exclusive discounts that help them save money and overcome the inevitable challenges of running a business.”
Aside from Wade, who formerly served as vice chairman of Sage Payment Solutions, MySpace co-founder Colin Digiaro serves on the board of directors. Nate Davis, former CEO of XM Satellite Radio, and former Sage Software CEO and President Ron Verni serve on the advisory committee.