Qzzr gets $2M to give quizzes a shot in the arm

Qzzr is a platform for marketers and publishers to create quizzes to increase social traffic

You may lie about it now, but back when Buzzfeed quizzes were all the rage you were right there with the rest of us, finding out which Beatle, which Ninja Turtle and which President you are! And why did you do that?  Simple: because its fun and it gives your brain a bit of a break.

But as much of a time waster as those kinds of quizzes feel like, they actually have a built-in benefit to both you, and to marketers and publishers. Now Qzzr wants to be the company that unlocks all of that potential.

The quiz platform has now emerged from stealth mode after a five-month limited pilot phase with $2 million in seed funding, it was announced on Wednesday. The round was led by Kickstart Seed Fund, with additional participation from Pelion Venture Partners, Peterson Partners, RPM Ventures and angel investors. The company has previously raised $500,000 in convertible notes, bringing its total to $2.5 million.

Founded in 2013, Qzzr provides marketers and publishers with simple, online tools to help them develop quizzes, giving them an opportunity to drive, and to convert, social traffic through shares, as well as offers, coupons and links.

But why quizzes? Because, according to Josh Little, founder and CEO of Qzzr, they are currently going through a "renassiance," thanks to both Buzzfeed, and to the New York Times, which, he told me, has has seen quizzes comprise seven of its top 10 articles.

Plus, they see huge return on investment. ROI. In the last 60 days, during which thousands of quizzes were created, Qzzr quizzes resulted in a 14.7% conversion  rate on leads, meaning that for every 100 people  that finished a  quiz, 14 of them entered their e-mail address for more offers.

"There is nothing else on the Web that converts that high," Little said. "That's what makes quizzes the most exciting thing right now."

And some pretty major website have certainly gotten the message. Over 11,000 sites are now using Qzzr, with 1,000 of them signing up last week. Clients include ESPN, which created a quiz to help their audience decide which World Cup team to root for; Collegehumor, with quizzes that include "Whose cleavage is this?," "Ancient Chinese proverb or Jaden Smith tweet?" and "Sci-fi author or creepy guy?"

Another client is swimsuit company Lime Ricki, which created a quiz to help its customers find the right swimsuit that they should wear. By using it as a decision engine, Little says the company "received excellent conversion rates."

Qzzr is not simply interested in helping out the business side of the equation, though; Little's ultimate vision is to also use the data is collects on people to help them gain a better perspective on themselves.

"We're most passionate about whats beneath them. Why are people happy to take quizzes? There is something to that, something human and basic," said Little. "People love to learn about themselves. Who am I is the most powerful question out there, and quizzes are best for delivering that answer right now."

With all of the sites already using the Qzzr platform, there are millions of people who have already answered millions of questions, giving the company a huge data set.

"We know a lot about people already. We're interested, not only in helping them get feedback through a quiz, but of aggregating data and comparing to what other people felt, saying, 'other people answered the same away you do,' and telling them how their friends answered the question,” he said. "We hope to harness data because, unlike polls or surveys, people tend to tell the truth in quizzes. There's no reason to lie, so we can send relevant data back to those taking those quizzes."

In this way, he wants to see quizzes continue to blossom as a content type. And while he realizes that such a goal is still a long way away, the dream of being able to use quizzes in this way makes Little excited for the possibilities.

If you are anything like me, though, when you hear a company talk about collecting data, your first thought is that it will eventually be sold off, and become a revenue stream, much like it has for companies like Facebook and Twitter. Qzzr, though, has no interest in making money this way.

"We're not interested in the sell side of this. The data is valuable, but we will use it in a different way, where we harness it, but set it free back to the user,” said Little. "We recognize that we’re capturing the most relevant stores of data in the world, and we have a responsibility to do something interesting with that."

Qzzr currently runs on a subscription model, where websites pay for the subscription based on how many leads, share redirects, and offers they want to create. It also offers an enterprise package, which include multiple administrators and white labeling of quizzes.

The company will use the funding to build up its team. Less than two months ago it had only four people; now it has eight. The company is planning to double once again, expanding to 16.

It will also increase its marketing efforts, recruiting more agencies, publishers and marketers.

Ultimately, Little sees quizzes as a huge opportunity for everyone to benefit, with the focus right now on the business end of the equation.

"Quizzes are fun and social, and everybody is getting that. What we really want to get across is the idea that people are using them to capture leads, and drive business, better than any other type of content," he said.