Tango Card, the Seattle startup that’s looking to upend the gift card industry, has pulled in an additional $4.1 million in financing. The deal was led by Allegro Venture Partners, with Floodgate, Swan, Western Technology Investment and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors also participating.
Led by entrepreneur and former FiberTower executive David Leeds, Tango Card is a versatile gift card that allows users to manage cash balances on Android and iOS mobile devices. The Seattle company faces competition from large gift card operators, including Visa and MasterCard.
The new money will be used to continue development on what the company dubs its RaaS (rewards-as-a-service) platform. It also plans to expand development, sales and marketing, and expand overseas.
Leeds tells GeekWire that the business is very strong, growing about 500 percent year-over-year.
“We have a long way to go, but after building and investing for the past two years, are on a solid growth trajectory now,” said Leeds.
Other upstarts in the gift card space include FiveStars, which is backed by Ali and Hadi Partovi and raised $14 million last fall. Madrona Venture Group also is a backer of Vancouver’s RewardLoop.
But Leeds thinks that Tango Card, which allows users to choose how they use gift money, including with retailers such as Amazon, Starbucks and iTunes, is different.
“We have a simple, but ultimatley disruptive belief that drives us: Rewards and recognition will be seamlessly integrated into modern platforms – this integration will drive engagement and differentiation for the platforms that do it and delight for the consumers that use the platforms,” he says.
Previously on GeekWire: Google’s Eric Schmidt backs gift card operator Tango Card
