WalkMe raises $11M to help you nagivate the Internet

WalkMe allows companies to create walkthroughs of their websites for visitors and employees

Judging from all of the calls I get from my mother about how to put pictures on Facebook, the Internet can be an awfully confusing place for people, especially those who did not grow up with them. It's not all their fault, though; there are plenty of confusing, and poorly laid out, websites out there that even the most experienced users would have trouble navigating.

That is where WalkMe comes in. It is a company that provides online publishers with the ability to create simple on-screen walkthroughs to make the Internet an easier place to navigate. And now it has now raised $11 million in new funding to expand that vision, the company announced on Tuesday. 

The round was led by new investor Scale Venture Partners, and also included participation from Mangrove Capital Partners, Giza Venture Capital and Gemini Israel Ventures.

The company had previously raised $1 million in a round of funding from Mangrove Capital Partners in April 2012, and then an additional $5.5 million from Gemini Israel Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partners and Giza Venture Capital in October 2012. With this latest funding round, WalkMe has raised $17.5 million to date.

Launched in 2011, the Tel Aviv-based WalkMe is a guidance system that layers on top of a Web page to “walk” Web users through. 

So, for example, a bank may user WalkMe to show its customers how to use different features on its site, such as how to transfer money between accounts or how to pay their bills directly. Or an employer can use WalkMe to help with onboarding, assisting new employeers with learning how to use their systems.

In an interview, Dan Adika, CEO of WalkMe, called the company a "GPS for the Internet." 

"Our core technology is identifying elements on the page and supplying tools that allows the site’s owner to create walkthroughs without any technical knowledge," he said. "They can create interactive guidance though drag and drop, and can record themselves performing these actions."

WalkMe ultimately saves its clients both the time, and the cost, of having to either create sales videos or PDF packets that can be hundreds of pages.

A bank, for example, might have to spend $5 to $7 per customer service call for every person who is confused by their website. Since banks can get a quarter of a million calls in a single quarter, and WalkMe can help reduce that number by 30%, it can ultimately save that bank millions of dollars.

WalkMe plans to use the new money it has raised to pamping up its sales organization by hiring 15 to 20 new sales representatives in its San Francisco office, as well as many more in its Israeli office. It will also be used to expand to new verticals, including on demand, Adika told me.

The latest round of funding will be used to further accelerate operational momentum and customer acquisition. In the past 12 months, the company has more than doubled its staff and looks to continue to rapidly grow and hire skilled employees that share in the company's vision and passion.  Furthermore, WalkMe's rapid expansion into the enterprise market has resulted in a more than 5X revenue increase, with enterprises from a wide range of verticals including

The company, which focuses on enterprise clients, such as banks, insurance, SaaS and healthcase, curtently has a clients that number "in the hundreds." Its customers include Adobe, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Citrix, Stanley Black&Decker, US Foods, Bank of Montreal and Kimberly-Clark.

WalkMe is also growing rapidly, having seen its revenue shoot up 500% in 2013.

In addition to the funding news, it was also announced that Rory O'Driscoll, Partner at Scale Venture Partners, will be joining the Board of Directors at WalkMe. 

(Image source: walkme.com)