Close
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Formerly | Close.io |
|---|---|
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | CRM software |
| Founded 📆 | 2013 |
| Founders 👔 | Steli Efti Anthony Nemitz Thomas Steinacher |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , Austin, Texas, U.S. |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | Close CRM |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | close |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Close is a customer relationship management (CRM) software company based in Austin, Texas.[1] The company develops Close CRM, a customer relationship management platform that integrates calling, email, and sales automation into a single application.[2]
History
Close grew out of Elastic Sales (also written ElasticSales), an outsourced business-to-business sales service founded by Steli Efti, Anthony Nemitz, and Thomas Steinacher.[3] Elastic Sales itself was a pivot from an earlier venture called SwipeGood, which let you donate to charity with every swipe of your debit or credit card.[4] The company was a participant in Y Combinator's Winter 2011 batch under its earlier names before relaunching as Close.io.[3][5] The Elastic Sales team, keying off the success of Salesforce, built an app that integrated calling and note taking features withing the application. [6] The company released this tool publicly as Close.io in January 2013.[6][7] Trade press coverage at launch described the platform's built-in calling, two-way email sync, and "Smart Views" for filtering leads by status.[8]
In April 2013, Close.io raised a seed funding round from investors including SV Angel, Spark Capital, Bebo co-founder Michael Birch, and David Tisch.[3] That same month, The New York Times named Close.io, alongside CRMs such as Nimble, Capsule, and Insightly, as an example of a newer generation of easier-to-use, web-based CRM software aimed at small businesses.[9] A companion Times article reported that the startup Thanx switched from Salesforce to Close.io in December 2012, quoting Thanx chief executive Zach Goldstein on the appeal of being able to call leads without leaving the application.[10]
By 2015, Close.io continued to draw independent editorial coverage as part of the broader sales-technology landscape. VentureBeat included Close.io among five startups it identified as reshaping sales automation, highlighting its one-click calling and automatic activity logging.[11] That same year, Entrepreneur profiled co-founder Steli Efti's approach to sales outsourcing, tracing the software's origins to the internal tool Efti and his co-founders built while running Elastic Sales.[12]
Close has continued to operate as a bootstrapped, privately held company since its 2013 seed round, without additional outside investment, according to the company.[13]
The company operates as a fully remote business.[14]
The product was rebranded from Close.io to Close.com in 2019, after the company acquired the close.com domain; in a 2025 interview, Efti said he had pursued the domain for roughly six years, contacting its original owner about twice a year before an agreement was finally reached, and that the purchase cost him "more than half a million" dollars.[13][15]
In the same 2025 interview, Efti said Close had reached approximately $45 million in annual revenue and expected to end the year around $50 million.[15]
Products
Close CRM is the company's customer relationship management software. Independent reviews describe it as integrating calling, email, and SMS communication for sales teams.[3][7][8] The CRM, designed for small businesses, also includes automation tools and sales lead pipeline management software.[16]
Reception
In 2013, Close is part of a newer generation of CRMs that can easily be integrated with existing software and applications like MailChip or Constant Contact. These next-gen CRMs are less technical and do not require a dedicated employee to manage the system.[9] Close.io was spotlighted as a fresh startup that is disrupting sales automation pointing out that the CRM allows a salesperson to log a prospect, call, and email all from one app. [11]
References
- ↑ Rao, Leena (April 2, 2013). "Close.io Raises Funding From SV Angel, Spark Capital To Improve Communication For Salespeople". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ Rao, Leena (April 2, 2013). "Close.io Raises Funding From SV Angel, Spark Capital To Improve Communication For Salespeople". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Rao, Leena (April 2, 2013). "Close.io Raises Funding From SV Angel, Spark Capital To Improve Communication For Salespeople". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ Rao, Leena (November 5, 2010). "SwipeGood Lets You Donate To Charity With Each Credit Card Swipe". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Close: CRM and sales automation tools for startups and SMBs". Y Combinator. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Geron, Tomio (January 29, 2013). "Y Combinator-Backed Close.io Launches Sales Software". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Elastic (YC W11) launches Close.io, sales software designed by sales people". Y Combinator Blog. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "ElasticSales Launches Close.io Platform". destinationCRM. January 30, 2013. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Zimmerman, Eilene (April 3, 2013). "Do Small Businesses Understand the Customer Relationship Systems They Buy?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ Zimmerman, Eilene (April 4, 2013). "Businesses of Varied Sizes Find Customer Relationship Help". The New York Times. p. B9. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "5 fresh startups that are shaking up sales automation". VentureBeat. February 25, 2015. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ Siu, Eric (September 8, 2015). "Use the 80/20 Principle to Build a Successful Outsourced Sales Team". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Big Announcement! We've Purchased Close.com and Rebranded as Close". Close, Inc. company blog. April 15, 2019. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ Blum, Sam (July 20, 2021). "The companies sliding into workers' personal DMs". BBC Worklife. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Warner, Andrew (June 18, 2025). "Close: The $50 Million / Year CRM". Mixergy. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ "Compare the top 20 CRM software options". TechTarget. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
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