Development History of RightNow Technologies

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Part 1: Development History of RightNow Technologies
RightNow Technologies was founded in 1997 by Greg Gianforte in Bozeman, Montana. The company started with a focus on providing web-based customer support solutions for businesses. Gianforte developed the prototype for the company's software himself and started selling it to local businesses in Montana. In 1999, the company secured its first round of venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital, and in the same year, RightNow Technologies introduced a new version of its software that included email management and self-service options for customers.
In 2000, RightNow Technologies expanded its offerings with the acquisition of Jump2Go, a company that provided interactive voice response technology for customer service. The acquisition helped the company to offer a more comprehensive suite of customer relationship management solutions (Hornik, 2004). In 2001, the company continued to grow and expanded its customer base to include large enterprises such as Dell and Royal Bank of Canada. The company also introduced new products and services, including a mobile customer service application and a knowledge management tool (Hornik, 2004).
In 2003, RightNow Technologies had grown significantly, with revenue reaching $54 million, a 65% increase from the previous year. The company had also expanded its customer base to over 1,000 companies, including major brands such as Cisco and British Airways (Hornik, 2004). Throughout the company's development, Gianforte played a critical role as the founder and CEO, leading the company's strategy and product development. The introduction of new products and services was also driven by the addition of key employees, such as CTO Bobby Napiltonia and Vice President of Product Management David Vap.
Part 2: Situation of the Company at the end of 2003
At the end of 2003, RightNow Technologies was in a strong financial position, with revenue growing rapidly and a growing customer base (Hornik, 2004). The company had also introduced new products and services to expand its offerings beyond traditional CRM solutions.
In terms of personnel, the company had a strong leadership team led by Gianforte as CEO, with key employees such as Napiltonia and Vap playing critical roles in the company's product development and growth. The company's concept of providing web-based CRM solutions was well-established and resonated with customers, as evidenced by the company's growing customer base and revenue growth (Hornik, 2004). In terms of the lowest price Gianforte would sell at, it is difficult to determine without more inform...