Founded in 2003 and based in New York, Zerve began as a back-end merchant platform for local activity providers and has recently opened its service directly to consumers. The cloud-based system offers business management tools such as ticketing, calendars, reviews, and photo hosting, giving merchants a comprehensive way to run and market their events. Zerve’s database now features roughly 30,000 activities across 32 U.S. metropolitan areas and has facilitated bookings for “millions” of consumers. Merchants show a 90-98 % retention rate on the platform, and the company claims to host more consumer reviews of its small-business partners than Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google combined. Turning consumer-facing is intended to boost transaction volume—Zerve only earns revenue when tickets are sold—and to make the company more attractive to large distribution partners. Management also plans to launch partnerships with major platforms that lack their own activity-booking infrastructure. Financially, Zerve bootstrapped for several years and has since raised $20 million in equity financing; it is currently seeking another significant round to accelerate growth.

Total raised

$20M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Nov 2014