FindTheBest, the data-driven comparison startup led by DoubleClick founder Kevin O’Connor has raised $11 million in Series B financing led by New World Ventures, with participation form Montgomery & Co. and existing investors, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and O’Connor. This brings the company’s total funding to $17 million.
FindTheBest has a simple ambition: to help people compare different products and services so that they can quickly figure out which is the best one. But what differentiates the startup from the plenty of other comparison sites out there is the data-driven and personalized results. FindTheBest’s in-depth comparison searches crawl large amounts of data.
For example, the engine can compare colleges and break down comparisons by acceptance rates, SAT scores, tuition, and more. As we’ve written in the past, the quality of the data they’ve gathered from government and other trusted sources, the transparency into how the data is sourced, and the tools available to slice, dice and manipulate it make FindTheBest a compelling destination. Disclosure: TechCrunch uses FindTheBest’s data.
Sources include public and third party databases, primary sources like manufacturer and vendor websites, and expert and user ratings. The information is then presented in tables with filters and ratings. Last year, FindTheBest started to incorporate personalization by capturing explicit data from users.
FindTheBest also runs a network of sites built on its proprietary data content platform which include: FindTheData, helping consumers find data within a variety of verticals; FindTheCompany, a directory of US companies and organizations; FindTheListing, listing home rentals, items for sale, and pets; FindTheCoupons, helping shoppers find coupons and promotional codes.
O’Connor says that people are always talking about data these days but data is useless when it is sitting somewhere, and is not being analyzed and categorized. Where data can be particularly useful is where it helps drive decisions, which is what FindTheBest is doing, he says.
The platform has since expanded from colleges to doctors to financial advisors to dog breeds and even classifieds. Categories include Business, Education, Electronics, Health, Home & Family, Motors, Software, Sports & Recreation and Travel & Lifestyle—with more to come.
FindTheBest plans to use the funds continue to enter new market segments, expand internationally and build out monetization of the platform.