For the occasional communications that still get sent via snail mail, startup is trying to corner the market for scanning the communications, sending them to users’ email inboxes and recycling the physical copies.
The company just raised another $5.1 million in funding, saying it’s on its way to a much larger round, and has started a deal with the Swiss Post to handle that country’s mail.
The Swiss mail carrier will brand Earth Class under its own name and offer the monthly-subscription package as a pilot program. If all works out, it will make the service permanent and expand it to clients in other countries.
Earth Class is an interesting case, both because of its quirky business plan and the publicity it has gotten. The company starred in eight episodes of Startup Junkies, a broadcast reality show that’s now available on Hulu.
A number of commenters on a VentureBeat article about the company earlier this year were dissatisfied with the service. But according to a company spokesperson, it’s gaining serious traction with big companies and government agencies, who use Earth Class to cut costs in their own mailrooms.
The company’s first funding was for $13.3 million. The recent $5.1 million funding was provided by angel investors, who also pumped in much of the first round; they’ve given $8.9 million to date. Earth Class is based in Seattle, Wash.
