Ooma, a Palo Alto, Calif,-based company that has created a VoIP phone hardware and services platform has raised another $16 million in third round of funding from it’s existing and new investors. Ooma had previously raised $27 million in two rounds of funding, bringing the total to $43 million. That’s a lot of money especially since the company hasn’t lived up to its initial promise.
Ooma, now about four years old had launched last July with much fanfare but lost its was as some key executives had left the company. In April 2008, Rich Buchanan, company’s new marketing honcho told us that the company would increase its retail presence. Since then the company has started selling at Best Buy. The company is going to use much of its new $16 million for expanding its retail presence.
A solid wall of competing and established services must make this one the year’s top “most likely to fail” ventures; to say nothing of its troubled history.
One could have a mobile venture with a paid subscriber base,surveyed and ready to launch, but if it is in a technical vertical, skilled trade, or real industrial market, one has zero chance of getting a dime. Better to have a semi-failed piece of VOIP hardware with a 90% chance of failure in a down economy.
Congrats to Ooma. I’m a satisfied user of their service for almost a year now. I did have a few glitches with the billing for Int’l calls but their support team was very helpful and sorted it out.
I wish they had a referral program so that it’s own users can recruit new customers.