SaaS 'CMR' startup MyWave raises $2.5 million in first round

"CMR" - it's not a typo.

New Zealand startup MyWave has completed a first-round private capital raising of NZ$2.5 million, ahead of a planned listing on the NZ Stock Exchange in 2015.

MyWave is a developer of what it calls the new wave of customer software, "customer managed relationship" (CMR), which turns the existing mode of CRM on its head.

“There was very strong investor interest in the offer,” MyWave CEO Geraldine McBride said.

The offer sought NZ$1.5 million with an option to accept up to NZ$2.5 million in over subscriptions.

McBride, an SAP veteran, said MyWave is now well funded to achieve its immediate objectives. These include further development of the MyWave CMR platform.

Users can connect with companies and brands through a cloud-based personal assistant, providing a framework for one-on-one relationships with selected companies and brands.

Users own and update their own data and can choose to share that data along with their buying intentions and preferences. MyWave also allows enterprises to offer targeted promotions and new consumer services.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) product is now ready to be deployed in New Zealand and Australia, McBride said.

"Our priority is to have a core group of customers up and running prior to our listing application in 2015,” she said.

MyWave's company register shows McBride owns 78% of the business with five other shareholders owning the balance. 

McBride, a former SAP North America president, says MyWave is receiving strong interest from enterprises.

“Our first customers will be in industries that are being digitally disrupted and striving to build enduring relationships with their customers to increase sales, loyalty and reduce the cost to serve,” she said.

Enterprises, she said, understand the need to give customer data back to their customers to reduce their cost to serve and receive timely insights into customer needs.

For instance, McBride said, a bank could offer money management services to its retail customers. An insurer could action cross-selling campaigns to offer customers a wider range of insurance products, based on detailed knowledge of what individual customers want.

MyWave is based in New Zealand with a development team in Melbourne.