SJF Ventures Starts Off 2011 with Investment in Optoro
Durham, NC and Lanham, MD – January 20, 2011 – SJF Ventures announced today it has invested in Optoro, a company providing comprehensive asset recovery solutions for the distressed inventory of retailers, manufacturers and 3rd party providers. SJF’s investment completes Optoro’s $1.85 million Series A financing, which also includes QED Investors and Phil Pfeffer of Treemont Capital.
Optoro specializes in direct-to-consumer remarketing of customer returns, overstock and refurbished product through multiple online channels using proprietary software and remarketing algorithms. Comprehensive services include reporting & analytics, warehousing & fulfillment, inspection & testing, research & marketing and eco-friendly product disposal. Optoro’s solution recovers significantly greater value than through a traditional liquidator and is scalable for clients ranging from mid-sized online retailers to large publicly-traded manufacturers.
“Optoro is quickly becoming a leading direct-to-consumer remarketing platform for the reverse supply chain,” said David Griest, Managing Director at SJF Ventures. “With over $100 billion of distressed inventory annually in the U.S., Optoro is disintermediating the conventional middlemen and providing higher returns with fully transparent visibility and data analytics for its clients.”
“We are excited to be able to close out this capital raise with such strategic investors as SJF and QED”, said Tobin Moore, Optoro’s chief executive officer. “With SJF’s experience in asset recovery and QED’s expertise in quantitative analysis and marketing algorithms, we will be able to provide our clients with a continually evolving solution superior to other marketing offerings. This investment allows us to further improve our cutting edge online re-marketing platform, which strategically positions us to make a significant impact in the vast yet antiquated distressed inventory market, in drastic need of better options.”
About Optoro
Optoro was founded to offer a more efficient and cost effective solution for businesses in need of selling distressed consumer goods. Unlike traditional liquidation models that funnel product through multiple layers of middlemen, Optoro has developed a remarketing technology to maximize recovery by connecting the distressed inventory of its clients directly to the millions of online end consumers who regularly seek out such product. For more information, visit www.optoro.com.
About SJF Ventures
SJF Ventures is a venture capital fund with offices in Durham, NC, New York and San Francisco. SJF has a twelve-year successful record of assisting visionary and talented management teams in building industry-leading firms. SJF provides strong expertise and networks in the cleantech, sustainability and technology enhanced services sectors, including particular experience in asset recovery/reuse and recycling. For more information, visit www.sjfventures.com.
