In 2011, Jim Gilliam had a difficult time convincing Silicon Valley investors that his startup company, NationBuilder, had a big enough vision. The company, true to its mission to build software for political organizations to manage their constituents, was only working with political clients. One problem: The political software industry hasn’t spawned many billion-dollar companies. (Actually, it has not spawned any.) Only the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, which invested $6.3 million into the company in 2012, was willing to back Gilliam’s cause. Angel investors followed, and NationBuilder added another $8 million in funding the following year.
Indeed, 90% of NationBuilder’s clients are from the political and non-profit sectors, who use the startup’s software to manage and build communities around their causes. (They “build their nations,” as Gilliam puts it.) The company sells itself as the best way to manage communities across the fragmented social media landscape. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr…
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