About MerchantCircle
We are a privately-funded business based in Silicon Valley, dedicated to helping local businesses get more customers quickly, easily and cost effectively. We know you've got a business to run, and you can't spare millions of dollars and extra employees to manage your advertising and marketing efforts. We don't think you should have to. Instead, let us help you.
As the Internet has matured, more information is available locally, and consumers are searching for it. Technological advances have transformed the World Wide Web from an impersonal galaxy into the Local Internet, a resource for information pertinent to your life and a vehicle for communicating and collaborating with your neighbors and friends. This evolution of the web into the Local Internet makes it possible for you to target and advertise directly to potential local customers. MerchantCircle helps you tap into the power of the Local Internet to reach these potential local customers, who are online right now, searching for deals, recommendations and information in your community. We created simple tools to help you to promote your products and services, and designed our site to get your business listed higher in search engine results on engines such as Google and Yahoo.
Many local businesses have been stumped when deciding where and how to advertise, and end up sinking their budget into placing ads in the yellow pages. We think the yellow pages are feeble relics of the rotary phone era, ineffective and unworthy of their outrageous prices. Consumers in the information age are much more likely to search for you on the web, and want more information about your offering than you can cram into one little static phone ad. We know you deserve better, so we developed free tools that help you develop a dynamic business listing and raise your visibility in search results. Moreover, we offer additional affordable service packages that leave phone book ads in the dust for a fraction of your budget.
Merchants like the Carriage House Cafe and Northern Mist Gifts have claimed their business listing, and customized it with pictures, blogs, coupons, ads, and newsletters. Everyday, merchants across the country trade tips with each other through MerchantCircle Forums. Merchants like North Star Resort in Mio, Michigan can talk to Tears of Joy Video in Encinitas, California on any given day about better business practices. James Wellman Photography in Reinholds, Pennsylvania can swap lighting tips with David Milner Photography in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And Healing Therapeutic Massage in Claremore, Oklahoma can boast all she wants about the customers she’s found through MerchantCircle – as long as people will listen! Sharing advice and building a trusted network will bring you and your affiliates more customers through referrals.
We've focused on creating a robust yet easy-to-use suite of tools specific to your needs. We know that there are already many complex and expensive services available online to help local business owners master different aspects of marketing and advertising. We've tested what works and incorporated the most effective tactics and strategies into a one-stop shop to help you harness the power of the Local Internet, delivering you more customers while saving you wasted effort and money.
MerchantCircle is led by an experienced team and funded by investors who share our vision and believe in the power of local businesses. Our backers include Rustic Canyon Partners, Scale Venture Partners and Disney's Steamboat Ventures, who each bring their specialized expertise to help us develop and improve your MerchantCircle experience.
Rustic Canyon has a deep understanding of small business advertising, earned in part through their
experiences with the LA Times and City Search. Rustic Canyon was established in September 1999 to
invest a portion of the funds created by a recapitalization of The Times Mirror Company (since
acquired by the Tribune Company). Their Managing Partner, Tom Unterman, previously served as
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Times Mirror, where he supervised its
investments, including an active venture capital investment program that included companies
such as Netscape, City Search, and WebTV.
Scale Venture Partners employs a thesis-based strategy to identify innovative development-stage
technology and healthcare investments. The ScaleVP team works with technology and healthcare
companies to accelerate their growth and become more valuable to entrepreneurs, investors and
consumers. Based in Foster City, California, the ScaleVP team collectively offers decades of
technology and venture industry experience to development-stage companies in hardware, software,
healthcare and medical devices. Representative portfolio companies include Alimera, Frontbridge,
Glu Mobile, Good Technology, Monolithic Power Systems, Omniture, Orexigen, Placeware, ScanSafe,
Seattle Genetics, Somaxon, Wayport and Xceive. For more information, visit www.scalevp.com
Disney's Steamboat Ventures helps companies succeed in emerging media and entertainment markets,
and has extensive experience in advertising and developing truly local experiences. Disney owns
an interest in 72 ABC radio stations, 10 television stations and many theme parks. In addition,
Steamboat Ventures has an extensive investment portfolio, including advertising companies Quigo,
who helps advertisers reach millions of targeted customers, and FastClick, (now ValueClick Media,)
one of the first online advertising networks.
We think local businesses are the cornerstone of our communities. We built MerchantCircle to help you thrive in an increasingly competitive environment. We welcome your feedback to help shape the future of MerchantCircle and your local business community. Welcome to MerchantCircle!
Read more about the MerchantCircle team in our Biographies page.
