July - August
2001

To Market:
Commercialization efforts expand in new Georgia Tech group

Experience:
Veteran entrepreneurs share their experience with ATDC firms

Broad Mission:
ATDC is more than entrepreneurial start-up companies

Arizan Corp:
New ATDC member makes corporate docs accessible to wireless

Raising $7.5 M:
Chutney Technologies secures $7.5 million in Series B funding

Digital Video:
Fortel DTV paves the way for better digital video production

TogetherWeb:
Customer relationship management firm raises additional funds

Ardext:
Company announces new solution for analog integrated circuits

ChanneLogics:
Product offers new platform for dynamic bandwidth allocation

International:
Chutney Technologies forms European unit in London

Netsurfer:
Broadcom development relationship provides new solutions

Neural Signals:
Muscle communicator helps disabled control computer cursor

The Same Page:
TogetherWeb takes collaborative CRM to new level

Microcross:
Provider of GNU X-Tools joins Programmer's Paradise program

ATDC Company Feature
On the Same Page: TogetherWeb Takes Collaborative Customer Relationship Management Technology to a New Level

Advanced Technology Development Center

(August 1, 2001) -- Trying to purchase airline tickets and an error message keeps flashing in your face? Getting even more frustrated as you try to explain the situation to a customer-service agent who doesn't seem to understand your problem?

TogetherWeb irons out e-commerce wrinkles by allowing customers and service representatives to get on the same page -- literally.

TogetherWeb allows customers and service representatives to get on the same page -- literally. Shown are Jamie Graves, Bill Thomasson, Kirk Bauer and Rick Hargett.

Up to now, the conventional technology for online customer-relationship management (CRM) has been text chat, which enables consumers and service reps to communicate via a pop-up box on their computer screens. Text chat is attractive because reps can assist several customers at one time, but there's a big drawback: Reps can't see what the customer sees, which turns online customer service into a high-tech version of the blind leading the blind.

One singular sensation

TogetherWeb takes real-time interactivity to a new level. The Atlanta-based company's patent-pending technology enables agents to link browsers with customers and view the very same page. "Some companies claim to have collaborative technologies, however, they're really only pushing pages," explains TogetherWeb's CEO Rick Hargett.

TogetherWeb's flagship product, SimulService, raises the bar on collaborative technology by:

• Allowing communications to take place in the original browser window, instead of launching a new window for reps to communicate with customers as competitors' products do. "When dealing with a confused customer, the last thing you want to do is clutter his or her computer screen with more windows," says Hargett.
• Filling out forms. Agents can quickly guide customers through a complicated transaction, such as setting up an IRA account. Customers see what's happening - keystroke by keystroke - which prevents further mistakes.
• Highlighting information or scrolling down the page. Reps can point out information the customer might otherwise overlook.
• Open, scaleable architecture. SimulService software, which can be delivered as a server-installed product or a hosted solution, integrates easily with other solutions.

The TogetherWeb team poses in their offices at ATDC's 10th Street building.

"A lot of our secret sauce is how we overcome back-end problems and security hurdles," says Hargett. Companies don't have to make major modifications to their Web sites or change passwords for security encryption to use SimulService. "That gives us an advantage in how fast we can implement the solution," adds Hargett. "Many companies have tried to develop their own collaborative applications in-house but failed, so they want to make up for lost time.

Having completed its beta testing earlier this summer, TogetherWeb is now marketing SimulService to its target audience: call centers and CRM technology providers. "A lot of our strength is with financial and travel companies because they have complex transactions that require the highest level of customer service," says Hargett.

With five major customers already signed on, TogetherWeb is generating its first revenues. Hargett projects $4.5 million in sales for 2002 and expects the company to be profitable late next year.

"From a funding standpoint, we've done a lot with very little outside money," adds Hargett, referring to $1 million in venture capital the company received last summer from Imlay Investments. "We've come a long way quickly - building a product and attracting initial customers - which shows there's a market for us and attests to the team that's involved."

Indeed, for a start-up, TogetherWeb has been able to recruit some heavy-hitters on its management team: Jamie Graves, an attorney who specialized in VC transactions and IPOs at Long Aldridge & Norman, now serves as TogetherWeb's COO and CFO. David Scott, the company's vice president of engineering, and Mike Kirksey, vice president of sales and business development, are both seasoned entrepreneurs who helped build other technology companies.

Airborne roots

Hargett launched TogetherWeb in February 2000 with co-founders Bill Thomasson and Kirk Bauer. Besides technology, the trio shares a love for parachuting and met through Georgia Tech's skydiving club.

In addition to all three founders hailing from Georgia Tech (Hargett graduated in '98, Thomasson in '92 and Bauer in 2001), more than half of the company's 12 full-time employees and three interns came from the university.

The Georgia Tech legacy has been a real plus, says Hargett: "We've never had a problem from a recruiting standpoint. There's no one on our team that we didn't know before, which eliminates a lot of trial and error when you're hiring. We knew their capabilities and already had a level of trust established before anyone showed up for work."

Last summer TogetherWeb was admitted to ATDC, Georgia Tech's incubator for technology start-ups, which has benefited the company in several ways. In particular, Hargett refers to monthly CEO roundtables, where ATDC members share experiences. Being exposed to other entrepreneurs who have "been there, done that" really helps hone your leadership skills, says Hargett: "Because CEOs have agreed that nothing that is discussed will leave the room, you can get very candid answers to tough questions."

Recently TogetherWeb closed on a second round of financing, which will be used to accelerate sales-and-marketing efforts.

Even though TogetherWeb is making its initial push in the customer-service arena, SimulService wields muscle as a selling solution: By allowing sales reps to walk prospects through online literature, it can speed up sales cycles and reduce acquisition costs.

The software also facilitates cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. Suggesting a complementary product, such as a DVD player to someone who's purchasing a television, is natural in a bricks-and-mortar environment. But it's not so easy online - unless sales agents can actually see what's happening on the customer's end.

"Call centers are typically viewed as 'cost' centers," says Hargett. "SimulService helps transform them into profit centers."

Article is part of a series of features about ATDC member companies written by Florida freelance business writer T.J. Becker. Photographs by Gary W. Meek.

Advanced Technology Development Center
Georgia Institute of Technology
430 Tenth Street, N.W., Suite N-116
Atlanta, Georgia 30318 USA

Media Relations: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (john.toon@edi.gatech.edu);
Fax: (404-894-4545).

Company Contact: Rick Hargett, CEO, TogetherWeb, (404) 817-8158; E-mail: (rick@togetherweb.com)