discuzzlogoDiscuzz, a Bellevue startup that helps sales professionals communicate more effectively with partners and customers, has raised a $3 million series A round from Ignition Partners and Trilogy Equity Partners.

Started in early 2012, Discuzz uses a private social network to change how communication flows between a company and their sales prospects — an improvement over the typical emails or cold calls that are often chock-full of links or attachments and not personalized.

Discuzz founders Conrad Bayer and Andy Harjanto.
Discuzz founders Conrad Bayer and Andy Harjanto.

“The seller also does not get any smarter in how he interacts with you based on your actions,” co-founder Conrad Bayer said of those “old school” methods. “Innovating the communication channel can change that.”

Both Bayer and his co-founder Andy Harjanto are former Microsoft managers. Harjanto worked at Microsoft from 1994 to 2008, before leaving to found Guppers. Bayer, who founded and sold Alacris to Microsoft in 2005, is the former general manager of Identity and Access at Microsoft.

The company, which has six employees and $3.3 million in total funding, said it has been helping “some great early adopters” make improvements in conversion rates and deal velocity.

“We are converging great design with behavioral analysis to provide what we think will be a platform to fundamentally change communications around the sales process,” Bayer said.

Watch the video below to learn more about Discuzz.

Previously on GeekWire: Ex-Microsofties land cash for private social network Discuzz

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