Email Marketing Company PulseConnect Becomes PostUp, Founder Joshua Baer Returns

Email marketing company PulseConnect is getting a new name, PostUp, while at the same time reconnecting with its roots — specifically with founder Joshua Baer, who’s joining PostUp’s board of directors.

The company has a rather convoluted history. It was founded as Skylist back in 1996, then acquired by digital marketing company PulsePoint in 2005. At the beginning of this year, it was acquired by Transition Capital Partners and Petra Capital Partners, turning it into what CEO Tony D’Anna described as an “independent private software company” (albeit one with private equity ownership) that’s “laser-focused” on email.

Baer added that as part of a larger company, PulseConnect hadn’t gotten the attention it needed, because it wasn’t the main focus of the business. He argued that spinning it out, and now giving it a new name, separate from its identity under PulsePoint, is “liberation.”

And while he acknowledged that there’s plenty of email marketing competition, he suggested that PostUp has an advantage because it’s only working on email rather than trying to expand into other areas like social media.

D’Anna pointed to automation and personalization as two areas where PostUp will be investing. He also noted that despite its new identity, the company continues to work with a number of large customers, including ABC Mouse, HBO, NBC-Comcast, Sony, Turner, and Univision.

And it sounds like that Baer remains optimistic about email marketing in general. Sure, other types of messaging may be newer and sexier, but Baer asked, “When I take a cab, is it going to send me a Facebook message with the receipt? I don’t think so.” He suggested that when you look more broadly at the various types of messaging, “The pie is getting bigger and the slices are changing. The email slice may be proportionally smaller but it’s getting bigger overall.”

In addition to joining the board, Baer (who runs the Capital Factory incubator for Austin startups) also made a new investment of undisclosed size in PostUp.