EnergySavvy has built cloud-based software to help utilities encourage customers to adopt energy-saving habits since it was founded in 2008, but now the Seattle startup is doing things the old fashioned way, too.
The company has launched its new Optix Engage Direct platform, which uses mail-in surveys to help utilities engage with households they can’t reach online, including older and lower income customers.
It’s a step back in time from EnergySavvy’s online offerings, but the company says these are the tools utilities need to reach customers who would benefit the most from energy saving programs.
At the same time, an SEC filing shows the company has raised $3.5 million in fresh funding from existing investors.
An EnergySavvy spokesperson said it made sense to give existing investors a chance to up their stake in the company after Tom King, former CEO of European utility National Grid, joined the startup’s board. None of the new money came from outside investors, the spokesperson said.
The company’s list of backers includes Prelude Ventures, EnerTech Capital and El Dorado Investment. The money “simply adds operating flexibility as we execute,” marketing director Dan Zasloff said in an email to GeekWire.
The company previously announced an $8.25 million funding round in 2014. Total funding now stands around $16.25 million.
