Hybrid physical-electronic mail company still looking for ‘series B’
Strobe has covered the evolution of Earth Class Mail for some time. Initially conceived as a way for busy people to manage their mail from anywhere (by scanning it all and making it available on-line), a more recent incarnation targeted the corporate mail room, eliminating the need for companies to log and route physical mail around their offices to get it to the right person or department, and an un-bundled offering of their scanning technology to private mail operators where they claimed Swiss Post as a customer (see Jan 11 2008).
Recent coverage in PE Hub was not an announcement of a new round, but a rather unusual interview where the company sought to publicize the fact that they are still looking for additional funding to the tune of $11 to $20 million. According to our records, the company took $7.4 million in Sept 2007, followed by a $5.9 million extension of that round via a syndication among a group of angels known as the Keiretsu Forum in January 2008. We also wonder what other private mail operators might think of the CEO’s description of their current discussions with SwissPost, “One national post, even a relatively small country can translate in [sic] a couple-hundred-million-dollars to us in royalties.” If they are unable to meet their funding objectives, at least it appears that they will have an abundance source of optimism to carry them forward.
