New messaging platform Mobilize raises $6.5 million

Group messaging continues to be a problem that large organizations have trouble solving. And its an area where venture investors have spent millions.

While many people use Slack, or communications tools from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and others, there’s no unified system for managing messaging.

That’s what Mobilize aims to be. The company raised $6.5 million in new financing from Trinity Ventures, Floodgate Ventures, Hillsven Capital, Array Ventures, Upwest Labs and a few angel investors.

“There are over a billion groups active today. Group communications solutions such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook have not evolved to meet their needs for situations where the communications are mission critical and not just casual chatter,” said Ajay Chopra, general partner at Trinity Ventures in a statement.  “Think of this as ‘Slack for external communications’ to actually get stuff done.”

The idea is that companies now rely on networks of loosely affiliated people to amplify their corporate or social campaigns. It’s kind of like the way political parties organize volunteers or large groups for campaigns.

“In the new economy, companies and organizations increasingly rely on large numbers of people outside their organization to achieve their missions. Groups have become business-critical and there is a growing need for group communication within every business,” said Sharon Savariego, chief executive and co-founder of Mobilize.

Savariego, who previously worked as a business development manager at uTest before raising millions from Trinity Ventures and others, has enlisted help from serial entrepreneur and tech executive Laura Yecies to help her manage the new business.

The crowd-sourced platform allows members to update their own profile information, and a communication system across email, text messages, calendars, and surveys.

“I have always been excited by the power and impact of new communication tools,” said Yecies in a statement.  “The time is perfect for a new category of Network Relationship Management products that we estimate to be over $65 billion in value.”