Close

Close is a CRM built specifically for inside sales teams, the people who sell primarily through calls, emails, and SMS rather than in-person meetings. What sets Close apart from the bigger CRM platforms is that calling, emailing, and texting are built directly into the product, not bolted on through integrations. For custom web application development, Close's API is particularly useful when clients need their custom tools to interact with an active sales operation. I've integrated Close with custom lead generation apps, built automated workflows that create and update Close leads based on user behavior in web applications, and synced Close's call activity data into custom reporting dashboards. The API is RESTful, well-documented, and follows predictable patterns.

From Zero to Standard

Close was founded by Steli Efti in 2013, originally under the name "Close.io." Efti is a fascinating founder, he grew up in Germany, the son of Greek immigrants, and moved to Silicon Valley to pursue tech entrepreneurship. Before Close, he ran a company called ElasticSales, which was essentially a sales-team-as-a-service. Companies would hire ElasticSales to do their outbound selling for them. While running that operation, Efti's team tried every CRM on the market and found them all lacking for the way inside sales actually works. So they built their own internal tool, and when other companies started asking to use it, Close was born. The company was bootstrapped for years before taking on growth capital and has been profitable for most of its existence.

The Technical Edge

Steli Efti became one of the most prolific content creators in the SaaS world, he has published hundreds of hours of sales training videos and written multiple books on sales tactics, all given away for free. His YouTube channel and blog became so popular that Close's content marketing essentially replaced the need for a large paid advertising budget. Efti has also been a fully remote CEO since well before the pandemic, Close has been a remote-first company since its founding, with team members spread across dozens of countries and no central office.

Visit: close.com