ExactTarget is a company.
ExactTarget has raised $81.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Key people at ExactTarget.
ExactTarget has raised $81.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
ExactTarget has raised $81.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
ExactTarget's investors include Battery Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, Openview Venture Partners.
ExactTarget was a pioneering digital marketing software company founded in 2000 in Indianapolis, Indiana, that developed a cloud-based platform for email marketing, later expanding to websites, social media, and mobile channels to enable data-driven customer engagement.[1][2][4] It served businesses of all sizes—from local dry cleaners and pizza shops to national and international enterprises—solving the problem of targeted, personalized communication in the early internet era when traditional database marketing principles were adapted online.[1][6] The company achieved explosive growth, scaling from a $200,000 bootstrapped startup to over 1,500 employees, a $161.5 million IPO in 2012, and a $2.5 billion acquisition by Salesforce in 2013, marking Indiana's largest tech exit and fueling the local startup ecosystem.[2][3][5][6]
ExactTarget was founded in December 2000 by first-time entrepreneurs Scott Dorsey, Chris Baggott, and Peter McCormick amid the dot-com bust, when VC funding had dried up and they operated from a $200-a-month space in a Greenfield business park.[1][3][4][6] Dorsey, a Chicago native with an MBA from Northwestern (via Indiana University and Kellogg), teamed up with Baggott (from Pittsburgh, with database marketing ideas) after marrying into the same Indianapolis family; McCormick rounded out the trio.[1][4] Lacking VC interest, they raised $200,000 from family, friends ($5,000 each), and angel investor Bob Compton, then built software for email marketing to revolutionize business-consumer connections.[1][7] Early traction came from small local businesses, hitting 124 employees by 2005, $31.2 million revenue by 2006, and plans to double to 700 staff by 2012, boosted by incentives and relentless expansion even during the 2008 downturn.[1][3]
ExactTarget rode the early 2000s wave of internet maturation and cloud marketing, timing its launch post-dot-com bust to apply offline database marketing to online channels when email was emerging as a high-ROI tool amid limited digital options.[1][4][5] Market forces like rising e-commerce and consumer data availability favored its model, positioning it as a leader in enterprise software outside Silicon Valley and proving tech hubs could thrive in the Midwest.[3][6] Its success transformed central Indiana's ecosystem: the $2.5 billion Salesforce acquisition created wealthy alumni who launched ventures like ClusterTruck (ghost kitchens), High Alpha venture studio, and Nextech (K-12 computer science education statewide), elevating Indianapolis as a national tech player and inspiring non-coastal entrepreneurship.[5][6][7]
Post-acquisition, ExactTarget's legacy endures within Salesforce's Marketing Cloud, now in Salesforce Tower (Indiana's tallest building), continuing to drive digital marketing innovation amid AI and generative trends that echo its founding era's infinite possibilities.[5][6] Alumni like Dorsey (via High Alpha) amplify its impact by backing new founders, suggesting sustained influence on Midwest tech through studios, education, and networks. As ExactTarget pioneered cloud marketing from humble origins, its model foreshadows how today's startups can scale globally from anywhere, with AI personalization likely supercharging its foundational tech in Salesforce's ecosystem.[4][5]
Key people at ExactTarget.
ExactTarget has raised $81.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $70.0M Venture Round in May 2009.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2009 | $70.0M Venture Round | Battery Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures | |
| Jul 1, 2004 | $11.0M Series A | Openview Venture Partners |
