SunRocket Shuts Down
Internet-Voice Provider Lays Off Nearly 200 at Primary Call Center
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 7/17/2007 7:14:00 AM
Internet-voice provider SunRocket -- which billed itself as “the no-gotcha phone company” -- ceased operations after laying off almost 200 employees at its primary call center in Missouri, according to published reports.
The demise of SunRocket -- which, at one point, counted more than 200,000 customers and had raised $100 million in private funding -- was first reported by The New York Times.
SunRocket’s shutdown was confirmed by Martin Pinchinson, a spokesman for Sherwood Partners, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based financial-consulting company handling SunRocket's liquidation, AP reported.
Bell Industries, which provided call-center services for SunRocket, laid off all 197 employees at its in Springfield, Mo., call center Monday, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
SunRocket's customer-service line (800-786-0132) Tuesday provided only a brief recording: "We are no longer taking customer-service or sales calls. Goodbye."
SunRocket, founded in 2004, had received around $100 million in venture capital from investors including BlueRun Ventures, Mayfield Fund and Anthem Capital Management. The company generated $156 million in revenues last year, according to information-services provider Thomson Gale.
