StepUp Commerce Receives $6.6 Million in Series B Funding

StepUp Commerce, Inc. ( http://www.stepup.com) , the Internet's local shopping service, today announced it has closed a $6.6 million funding round to further enhance its local shopping service for retailers. The round was co-led by Allegis Capital and Granite Ventures LLC and also included participation by the company's previous investors.
The new round reflects the rapid growth in Internet local shopping and the success StepUp has achieved in this area with over 1,200 retailers using its service nationwide. Over 70% of U.S. households use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally, yet only a fraction of physical store inventory is online. StepUp bridges that gap by offering brick-and- mortar retailers a service to showcase their in-store products to online shoppers in their area.
Retailers' products are then syndicated through partnerships StepUp has formed with media sites, shopping comparison sites and major search engines, such as Google. StepUp will use the funds to meet the growing demand for its service and continue to develop patent-pending technology focused on automating the process of synchronizing retail inventory information.
"StepUp's service fills a critical, but currently unmet, need in Internet- based shopping applications: helping online consumers locate the products they need in stores within their local zip codes," said Bob Ackerman, Managing Director of Allegis Capital. "We were impressed by the company's proven leadership team and the application of technology to help gather, manage and maintain local product inventory information."
Bob Ackerman and Standish O'Grady, Managing Director of Granite Ventures, will join the StepUp board of directors. Both bring a wealth of experience, having successfully developed Internet shopping and service companies into market leaders. They join existing board members Trevor Traina, Chairman of the Board; Jad Dunning, President; and Kendall Fargo, StepUp's Founder and CEO -- each of whom has individually founded or grown successful e-commerce companies such as CompareNet, Beyond.com and CyberSource Corporation. Allegis Capital was previously an investor in CompareNet and continues to back the management team now at StepUp.
"We feel StepUp is on track to be the solution of choice for retailers who want to leverage the Internet to drive in-store sales," said Standish O'Grady. "We are pleased to provide StepUp with both financial resources and strategic guidance to continue its expansion and success."
"StepUp is well positioned to take advantage of the explosive growth in local commerce driven through the Internet," said Kendall Fargo, StepUp's Founder and CEO. "We couldn't be happier having these two outstanding firms invest in our company and honored to have seasoned veterans like Bob Ackerman and Standish O'Grady join our board."
About Allegis Capital
Allegis Capital is a leading seed and early-stage venture capital firm that invests in companies developing enabling technology and infrastructure to serve emerging information technology markets. Specific areas of interest include enabling hardware devices, enterprise software solutions, broadband and wireless delivery techniques, and Internet infrastructure and delivery platforms and services. Allegis Capital has a successful history of investing in top-tier Internet companies such as CompareNet, Rent.com, and Shopzilla.
About Granite Ventures
Granite Ventures, LLC is a leading early-stage technology venture capital firm with over $1 billion in capital under management. Granite Ventures began as the early-stage venture capital group at Hambrecht & Quist in 1992. The firm has been independent since July 1998. Granite Ventures has invested in more than 80 companies, including such industry leaders as Digimarc, DigitalThink, InfoGear, Internap, NetBoost, Nexabit, Siebel Systems, Sierra Wireless, SnapTrack, Tumbleweed Communications and Vignette.
About StepUp Commerce, Inc.
Headquartered in San Francisco, StepUp is a leading local shopping services company that helps retailers use the Internet to display their in- store products. StepUp's mission is to expose local inventory information from retailers of all sizes to consumers wherever they are browsing products online, including local search engines and content sites. A showcase of the service can be seen at http://www.stepup.com .
Contact: Frank Loeffler
StepUp Commerce, Inc.
Phone 415-979-0908 x103
This release was issued through The Xpress Press News Service, merging e-mail and satellite distribution technologies to reach business analysts and media outlets worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.XpressPress.com

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