Hearsay raises $30M in new funding

To accelerate product development for retail relationships, Hearsay Social Inc., an enterprise social media management and compliance technology firm, announced Thursday that it has raised $30 million in new funding Two of the startup’s existing investors, venture-capital firms Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates, contributed the funding, according to Clara Shih, Hearsay’s chief executive. The company, which was founded in 2009, has raised a total of $51 million. Hearsay’s platform helps advisers mine data about clients, conduct outreach efforts and meet compliance requirements on social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. “The way that today’s customer makes buying decisions about what to buy and who to buy from, those decisions are heavily influenced, increasingly influenced, by social media sources,” Shih said. “No one has time to read all of those updates, but there are certain updates you don’t want to miss.” Hearsay has added dozens of customers this year. Raymond James Financial Inc. partnered with Hearsay in July. Previously, Raymond James’ advisers used Actiance Inc.’s social-media compliance platform.