Small Business VoIP

Ifbyphone, a hosted telephone application platform company, has announced it has secured $4.6 million in a second round of institutional funding from five venture capital firms.

 

“We view this new round of funding as a strong endorsement of our growth and expansion strategy,” said Ifbyphone (News - Alert) founder and CEO Irv Shapiro. “It positions us extremely well to continue our expansion during these complex economic times.”

 

The second round was led in conjunction with Apex Venture Partners and Origin Ventures. Other companies involved are Spring Mill Venture Partners, i2A and Blue Crest Capital Finance, L.P.

 

“We are very excited to be a part of the Ifbyphone investor group,” said Ken Green, co-founder and managing partner at Spring Mill Venture Partners. “We believe that Ifbyphone represents the next great wave of Internet-enabled business services, allowing small and medium-sized businesses access to capabilities previously only available to their larger competitors. This kind of service offers an opportunity to level the competitive playing field.”

 

Origin Ventures, Apex Venture Partners and Spring Mill Venture Partners are a venture capital firms. Apex is based in Chicago while Spring Mill Venture Partners focus on investing in strong management teams in high-growth information technology and life sciences companies located in the Midwest region.

 

The Illinois Innovation Accelerator Fund (i²A) is a $10 million early-stage investment fund which invests in companies primarily in technology-enabled products and services, new media and education products.

 

BlueCrest Capital Finance, L.P., is a U.S.-based commercial finance company, which provides debt-financing solutions to development-stage companies in a broad range of industry sectors including IT, Communications, Hardware, Software, Semi-Conductor, Electronics, Energy, Medical Device and Life Science.

 

Recently, TMCnet reported that Ifbyphone released their second iPhone (News - Alert) application which allowed users to set up conference calls from their iPhones or iPod touch devices spontaneously.

 

Ifbyphone provides small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with tools to enhance customer conversations, drive sales, and lower costs.