SupportLocal launches business services

SupportLocal, based at Galvanize in the Golden Triangle, launched its business membership program in late June.

For a $129 annual fee, member businesses are able to offer specials and drive referrals via SupportLocal's platform and have enhanced content on SupportLocal's website. Members also get a welcome kit with cards and a decal.

The seven-employee company was founded by CEO Justin Sanger, CIO Cory LaNou and CTO Levi Cook in 2011 and launched in April.

"It's going very well," says Sanger. "We want to get these roots in place to grow, and thet's exactly what we're doing now.

SupportLocal users sign up for a free account and make local recommendations on everything from Mexican restaurants to orthodontists and the recommendations are then pushed out to their local networks of friends and family.

The new business services allows them to harness the power of these trusted recommendations, says Sanger. About 2 percent of users write 98 percent of reviews on sites like Yelp, rendering them ineffective.

"We're after trusted answers from their friends," Sanger explains. "We're Angie's List with your friends."

Businesses "turn into evangelists for us," says Sanger, driving new users to the site. SupportLocal currently has "several thousand" users, he adds.

Sanger says SupportLocal is in talks for a Series A round of venture capital of "several million dollars."

"We're talking to some very, very interested parties," he says. "We're showing them what the mousetrap looks like."

Contact Confluence Denver Innovation & Jobs News Editor Eric Peterson with tips and leads for future stories at eric@confluence-denver.com.