# Argyle Social (2010 – 2014)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/argyle-social/
- Sector: Advertising and marketing
- Country: United States
- Total funding: $1.6 million
- Cause of closure: Lost to competitors

## What did it do?

Argyle Social was a software service that let marketers and agencies manage multiple social media accounts from a single dashboard, schedule posts and measure results. The platform integrated with marketing automation tools such as Marketo, Pardot and Silverpop.

## Why did it shut down?

The company launched in October 2010 with USD 325,000 in seed funding and raised around USD 1.2 million more in September 2011 in a round led by Madison River Ventures. In November 2012 founding CEO Eric Boggs stepped down and was replaced by chief technology officer Adam Covati; the company had 11 employees at the time. As the social media marketing space heated up with big acquisitions by Salesforce, Adobe and Oracle, rivals raised heavy capital and poured it into sales and marketing. The cost of keeping up with constantly changing social network interfaces strained the small team, and Covati said they were in no position to raise new capital. When months of searching for a strategic partner came to nothing, Covati announced in April 2014 that the service would close on 31 May 2014.

## The story

Argyle Social was founded in 2010 in Durham, North Carolina, at a time when social media was still a new marketing channel for companies. Started by Eric Boggs and Adam Covati, the company built software that let marketers manage multiple accounts from one place, schedule posts and measure their results. Covati had previously been a product manager at Bronto, a Durham-based email marketing company.

The company raised USD 325,000 in seed funding in October 2010 and around USD 1.2 million more in September 2011 in a round led by Madison River Ventures. In November 2012 the leadership changed: founding CEO Eric Boggs stepped down and chief technology officer Adam Covati took the helm. Argyle, which had 11 employees at the time, shifted its focus to social media marketing automation and built integrations with tools such as Marketo, Pardot and Silverpop.

The space quickly became crowded. As Salesforce, Adobe and Oracle entered the market with big acquisitions, rivals raised serious capital and expanded their sales teams. According to Covati, the cost of staying compatible with constantly changing social networks was high; strategic partners, while finding the product exciting, also thought the market was still a little early. Covati admitted that they were in no position to raise new capital and were fighting a losing battle.

Writing to employees and customers in April 2014, Covati announced that the platform would close on 31 May 2014. Over four years, around 500 companies had used Argyle. Covati described his biggest regret as not continuing to invest in their own marketing while selling marketing tools to their customers.

## Lessons

- If your product depends on other companies' interfaces, build the ongoing cost of keeping those integrations alive into your pricing and team plan from the start.
- In a category where well-capitalised rivals are growing fast, it is hard to survive as a general-purpose tool without focusing on a specific customer segment.
- While selling marketing tools to your customers, do not cut investment in your own marketing; that was the founder's biggest regret.

## Sources

- [Argyle Social is no longer in fashion: Startup shuts down (exclusive)](https://venturebeat.com/2014/04/16/argyle-social-is-no-longer-in-fashion-startup-shuts-down-exclusive)
- [When Startups Fail… Argyle Social Shutdown a Sign of the Times](https://wraltechwire.com/2014/04/21/when-startups-fail-argyle-social-shutdown-a-sign-of-the-times-14421/)
- [ArgyleSocial replaces one of its founders as CEO](https://wraltechwire.com/2012/11/23/argylesocial-replaces-one-of-its-founders-as-ceo/)