Docstoc buys up software recommendation site BestVendor

BestVendor will remain independent from professional document provider Docstoc

Professional document provider Docstoc is expanding its capabiilites with its first ever acquisition:BestVendor, a website designed to helps professionals to find the best software, apps, and services.

Though no financial terms of the deal were disclosed, BestVendor will continue to operate independently from Docstock, it was revealed in a blog post on Monday.

"At BestVendor, it has been our ongoing mission to help you find the best business apps to get things done. Our goal is to bring more sharing and openness to business solutions, and we believe that joining Docstoc was the next logical step in achieving this aspiration," the company wrote.

Docstoc "has proven itself as a premium online resource for small businesses," said BestVendor, and its "initiative to help start, grow, and manage your professional life and small business" is what made it a good fit for them.

VatorNews has reached out to both Docstoc and BestVendor to find more details about the purchase. The companies could not be reached for further comment, and we will update if we learn more. 

Docstoc was founded by Jason Nazar and Alon Shwartz in 2005. The Santa Monica-based company called itself a "online destination to start and grow small businesses."

The site hosts a selection of over 20 million professional documents, as well as resources including expert videos, articles and productivity tools to make every small business better. The company also provides technology that helps facilitate the sharing and promotion of documents across the web.

Docstoc says that it has over 25 million registered users.

The site, which started out by offering business documents, has been expanding in the last year or so. That has included the launch of License123, a research service that helps businesses find the permits and licenses they need in order to be compliant with their local, state and federal government, in March of last year. 

In May of 2012, the site launched 30 apps for iPad and iPhone, including Documents And Templates, Leadership Skills, Advertise Your Business and How to get a Job Interview.

Most recently, the company launched ExpertCircle, a platform to enable businesses to find the top recommended products and vendors, which sounds an awful lot like what BestVendor does.

Founded in January 2011, New York-based BestVendor is a go-to resource for small-to-medium-sized businesses looking for reviews about business applications and services. It helps business users decide which online tools to use.

The company raised 600,000 in seed funding in June 2011, and then another $3 million in Series A funding, co-led by RRE Ventures and SoftBank Capital in December. Existing investors who participated in the seed round, including Lerer Ventures, David Tisch, Founder Collective, and Old Willow Partners, also joined the round.

(Image source: https://www.bestvendor.com)