Act-On
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Marketing automation software |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Raghu Raghavan |
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon , United States |
Key people | Kate Johnson (CEO), Raghu Raghavan (CTO), Andy MacMillan (former CEO) |
| Products | Marketing automation platform, email marketing, landing pages, social media prospecting, CRM integration, lead management, webinar coordination, analytics |
Number of employees | 200 (2024) |
| Website | act-on |
Act-On Software is a cloud-based marketing automation solution headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2008 by Raghu Raghavan, who brought experience from Responsys, the company focused on delivering an accessible SaaS marketing platform tailored to mid-sized businesses. With an initial $2 million investment from Cisco, Act-On capitalized on the advantage of entering an already competitive space armed with insights gained from earlier market players.
History
In 2011, Act-On secured $10 million in funding and expanded its presence to Silicon Valley. The following year, it raised an additional $16 million. By 2013, the workforce had grown to 140 employees, supporting a customer base exceeding 500. A landmark $42 million investment round in 2014 represented one of the largest technology financings in Oregon since the dot-com era. At that point, Act-On employed around 200 staff across offices in the United States and the United Kingdom, serving over 4,000 clients worldwide.
The year 2015 saw strategic additions to the leadership team from companies like Jive and ExactTarget, with Andy MacMillan—formerly of Salesforce—appointed as CEO. Founder Raghu Raghavan shifted focus to the CTO role. Under MacMillan’s guidance, the Portland office underwent expansion in early 2016.
Kate Johnson, who previously served as CFO, was promoted to CEO in 2018 as Act-On consolidated its operations in Portland. The company raised a further $4 million in 2019. In June 2020, Act-On underwent a rebranding initiative aimed at refreshing its marketing solutions and product lineup.
By 2023, Act-On reported revenues of $25.8 million and maintained a customer base near 4,000 with approximately 200 employees as of 2024.
Features
Act-On operates as a subscription-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform specializing in marketing automation. Its suite includes tools for email marketing, landing pages, social media prospecting, CRM integration, lead management, webinar coordination, and analytics. Among its capabilities is a Twitter prospector that automates social content generation and tracks potential leads. Act-On Insight offers competitive benchmarking for social media performance. The Hot Prospects feature integrates with Salesforce.com to identify sales-qualified leads. In 2013, Act-On broadened its offerings to include inbound marketing functionalities such as SEO and pay-per-click advertising tools along with mobile app support.
Enhancements introduced in 2014 improved data visualization, user interface experience, responsive email design, and CRM connectivity. In 2015, the launch of Act-On Anywhere—a Chrome extension—enabled users to access marketing automation features directly within web browsers and embed calls-to-action across various online platforms. This aligned with Act-On’s open marketing ecosystem strategy by facilitating seamless third-party application integration via open APIs.
June 2015 marked the release of Data Studio, an advanced analytics tool that allows users to create visual representations of engagement metrics and export data to any Business Intelligence (BI) system. This enterprise-level feature includes customizable wizards, filters, and templates for real-time reporting.
Aimed at marketing teams ranging from small businesses to large enterprises, Act-On positions itself as an economical and client-centric alternative to more extensive enterprise suites. It supports integrations with platforms like WebEx, GoToWebinar, Google Analytics, as well as leading CRM solutions including Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, SugarCRM, among others. The platform’s vendor-neutral native CRM integrations ensure broad compatibility.
An agency-specific version provides a unified dashboard for managing multiple client campaigns with discounted pricing available for bulk purchases. Additionally, Act-On cultivates an ecosystem through its Partner Exchange program (APEX), offers educational resources via the Act-On Center of Excellence (ACE), and delivers professional services.
In 2023, Act-On introduced Advanced Analytics featuring AI-driven improvements that significantly enhance reporting capabilities and data visualization for end users.
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