DataRank Sold To Seattle Startup

DataRank, a 4-year old social media analytics startup headquartered in Fayetteville, has been acquired by another social analytics company — Simply Measured of Seattle.

DataRank will retain its employees and continue to work from a Fayetteville location, though company co-founder and CEO Ryan Frazier said some company employees will be relocating to Seattle.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Simply Measured was started just five years ago — under the company name Untitled Startup — and has almost 150 employees. The company, which has received nearly $30 million in funding since it was started, raised $20 million in 2014 in Series C funding, led by Menlo Park, California-based Trinity Ventures.

Simply Measured works with brands like Pepsi, American Express and Chipotle to provide them with tools that analyze social media traffic and determine social media influencers from platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram.

If that sounds like a familiar business plan, it’s because DataRank is a likeminded outfit. Founded in 2011 as TTAGG (pronounced tag) Inc., the company uses its own algorithm to compile and filter online comments about a wide range of consumer products. It then breaks down the data into market research reports, and clients pay a monthly subscription fee for access to the reports. Some notable customers include ConAgra Foods and Clorox.

It was founded in October 2011 by Frazier, Britt Cagnina, Chuong Nguyen and Kenny Cason, all University of Arkansas graduates.

DataRank graduated from the Y Combinator seed accelerator in the summer of 2013, and the company raised $1.4 million in seed funding in February 2014. New Road Capital Partners of Bentonville led the round, and was joined by San Francisco-based FundersClub and individual angels. 

It’s the second acquisition in recent weeks for Simply Measured. The privately held company acquired a similar social analytics startup in Seattle in September.