AnswerDash
{{Short description|B2B software company in Seattle, Washington}}
{{Infobox company
| name = AnswerDash
| logo = AnswerDash logo.png
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| industry = Computer software, Internet
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| founded = 2012
| founders = {{unbulleted list|Jacob O. Wobbrock|Amy J. Ko|Parmit Chilana}}
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| hq_location = 999 Third Ave., Suite 700
| hq_location_city = Seattle, Washington
| hq_location_country = United States
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| key_people = Don Davidge, CEO
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| equity_year = 2015
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| website = {{URL|answerdash.com}}
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{{Coord|47|36|36.43|N|122|20|15.21|W|display=title}}
AnswerDash is a B2B software company that facilitates customer service for e-commerce businesses. AnswerDash was founded in Seattle, Washington in 2012 as a spin-off from the Information school of the University of Washington. Its software-as-a-service utilizes machine learning to create databases of context-sensitive support answers for end-users of webpages and mobile applications, thus reducing the need for human customer service. AnswerDash claims to be the first, and as of 2015, the world's leading provider of contextual point-and-click answer technology. In June 2020, AnswerDash was acquired by CloudEngage.
History
File:Qazzow_logo_(former_logo_of_AnswerDash).png
The company was founded under name ″Qazzow″ in 2012 by three University of Washington employees: Jacob O. Wobbrock, a professor and the director of ACE Lab, Amy J. Ko, an associate professor the director of Code & Cognition Lab, and Parmit Chilana, a research assistant and a graduate student at the time, now a professor at Simon Fraser University. Jake Wobbrock assumed the responsibilities of CEO, and Amy J. Ko became the company's CTO. The idea of the key company's service stemmed from Parmit Chilana's dissertation on human–computer interaction. Her research has highlighted a very high proportion (up to 95%) of users' questions that are triggered by something seen on a website and should benefit from contextual help.
In November 2013, the company received $500,000 seed investment from W Fund to further develop its contextual Q&A service and in December 2013 additional $2.4 million from WRF Capital and Voyager Capital investment funds. In May 2014, the company re-branded itself to ″AnswerDash″ reacting to customers' confusion over the unusual sequence of letters in the original name.
In January 2015, Kevin Knoepp replaced Amy J. Ko as AnswerDash's CTO. AnswerDash service came on-line in May 2015. At the same time, after serving as a CEO for three years, Jake Wobbrock stepped down as the CEO. His performance was generally favored by the board, but Wobbrok has admitted his tendency to focusing on interesting scientific details that might not be relevant to business success. Wobbrock was replaced by William Colleran, a former CEO Impinj.
By the end of 2015, the company has "matured dramatically". After announcing the successful deployment of its software to Zendesk, in September, AnswerDash raised additional $2.9 million. In 2016, AnswerDash has recorded the biggest jump in GeekWire 200 rating, a ranked index of Pacific Northwest startups.
In June 2020, AnswerDash was acquired by Spokane, WA-based startup CloudEngage.
== Services ==
Offered under SaaS model by subscription, the service aims to eliminate the need for separate FAQs or ″help islands" offering contextual answers to end-users' questions. The service can be used on websites, web applications, and mobile applications. It employs a natural-language engine and machine learning technology that allows website and application owners to build the database of answers in a matter of several days.
In addition, AnswerDash utilizes data mining technology to provide business owners with valuable analytics on their consumers' behavior that leads to further improvement of their e-commerce services. AnswerDash claims to reduce the need of traditional customer support by 30 to 50 percent.
See also
References
{{Reflist|2|refs=
{{cite web |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=248290611|title= Company Overview of AnswerDash, Inc.|website= bloomberg.com|publisher= Bloomberg L.P.|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= http://www.cio.com/article/3040119/e-commerce/5-ways-ecommerce-business-can-improve-customer-service.html|title= 5 ways ecommerce businesses can improve customer service|author= Jennifer Lonoff Schiff|date= March 2, 2016|website= cio.com|publisher= CIO magazine |accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2013/uw-spin-qazzow-scores-500000-customers-questions-answered-ecommerce-sites/|title= UW spin out Qazzow scores $500,000, helps customers get questions answered on e-commerce sites|author= John Cook|date= November 5, 2013|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= GeekWire|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2013/uw-spinout-qazzow-scores-24/|title= UW spin-out Qazzow scores $2.4M to bolster customer service on e-commerce sites|author= John Cook|date= December 13, 2013|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= GeekWire|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2014/answerdash/|title= UW spinout AnswerDash launches, names ex-Drugstore.com CEO Dawn Lepore to board|author= Taylor Soper|date= May 20, 2014|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= GeekWire|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2015/uw-spinout-answerdash-raises-2-9m-to-support-growth-of-online-contextual-help-platform/|title= UW spinout AnswerDash raises $2.9M to support growth of online contextual help platform|author= Taylor Soper|date= September 14, 2015|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= GeekWire|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2016/geekwire-200-june-update/|title= GeekWire 200 June Update: AnswerDash, Placed and other startups climb the ranks|author= Monica Nickelsburg|date= June 10, 2016|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= GeekWire|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite news |title= Jake Wobbrock of AnswerDash: Lead With Strength, and Weaknesses|author= Adam Bryant|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/business/jake-wobbrock-of-answerdash-lead-with-strengths-and-weaknesses.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|issn= 0362-4331|oclc=1645522|date= 30 June 2015}}
{{cite book |editor1-first= Tim|editor1-last= Menzies|others= Laurie Williams, Thomas Zimmermann|title= Perspectives on Data Science for Software Engineering|year= 2016|publisher= Morgan Kaufmann|isbn= 978-0128042069|oclc= 951234165|page= 377}}
{{cite news |title= They answer the riddle of online user confusion|author= Steven Goldsmith|newspaper= Puget Sound Business Journal|publisher= American City Business Journals|location= Seattle|issn= 8750-7757|lccn=99107105|oclc=11683053|date= 20 March 2015|page= 40| volume = 35| issue = 48}}
{{cite news |title= Tech Spotlight: AnswerDash solves your confusion when using websites|author= Rachel Lerman|url= http://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/tech-spotlight-answerdash-solves-your-confusion-when-using-websites/|newspaper=The Seattle Times |location= Seattle, Washington|issn= 0745-9696|oclc=9198928|date= 20 September 2015}}
{{cite web |url= http://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/|title= Amy J. Ko|website= washington.edu|publisher= University of Washington|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= http://depts.washington.edu/acelab/|title= ACE Lab|website= washington.edu|publisher= University of Washington|accessdate= 2 July 2020}}
{{cite web|url= https://ischool.uw.edu/feature-stories/ischool-startup-qazzow-receives-seed-investment-w-fund|title= iSchool startup Qazzow receives seed investment from W Fund|website= uw.edu|publisher= University of Washington|accessdate= 25 September 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160927193345/https://ischool.uw.edu/feature-stories/ischool-startup-qazzow-receives-seed-investment-w-fund|archive-date= 27 September 2016|url-status= dead}}
{{cite web |url= https://venturebeat.com/2014/10/08/u-of-washington-spinoff-answerdash-launches-to-make-everything-on-a-web-page-questionable/|title= University of Washington-spinoff AnswerDash launches to make everything on a Web page questionable|author= Barry Levine|date= October 8, 2014|website= venturebeat.com|publisher= VentureBeat|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2014/12/19/seattle-roundup-skytap-mercent-answerdash-flowvella-impinj/#|title= Seattle Roundup: Skytap, Mercent, AnswerDash, FlowVella, Impinj|author= Benjamin Romano|date= December 19, 2014|website= xconomy.com|publisher= Xconomy|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= https://finance.yahoo.com/news/answerdash-reports-customers-experience-average-130100188.html|title= AnswerDash Reports Customers Experience an Average Cost Savings of $20K a Year in Customer Support|date= February 12, 2015|website= finance.yahoo.com|publisher=Yahoo! Finance |accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= https://finance.yahoo.com/news/answerdash-appoints-don-davidge-vice-120100074.html|title= AnswerDash Appoints Don Davidge as Vice President of Sales and Marketing|date= March 31, 2016|website= finance.yahoo.com|publisher=Yahoo! Finance |accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite web |url= https://finance.yahoo.com/news/answerdash-announces-hire-kevin-knoepp-130100275.html|title= AnswerDash Announces New Hire Kevin Knoepp as Vice President of Engineering|date= January 22, 2015|website= finance.yahoo.com|publisher=Yahoo! Finance |accessdate= 25 September 2016}}
{{cite news|first1 = Sam|last1 = Becker|date=July 1, 2015|title=Bright Idea: UW-spawned platform makes websites more responsive|url=http://seattlebusinessmag.com/article/bright-idea-uw-spawned-platform-makes-websites-more-responsive|newspaper= Seattle Business Monthly|location=Seattle |publisher=Tiger Oak Publications |lccn=2006252302 |oclc=259466486 }}
{{cite web |url= https://www.geekwire.com/2020/uw-spinout-answerdash-contextual-qa-service-customer-support-acquired-cloudengage/|title= UW spinout AnswerDash, a contextual Q&A service for customer support, acquired by CloudEngage|author= Taylor Soper|date= June 23, 2020|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= GeekWire|accessdate= 2 July 2020}}
}}
External links
- [http://www.answerdash.com Company Website]
Category:Business software companies
Category:Technology companies established in 2012