Cludo was founded with the belief that we could help our clients by making their website searches easier, more affordable and better. And from Day One through Year Seven, that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.
The Beginning
Cludo’s roots are in Denmark, where Niels Ebbe Ebbesen and his brother, Morten, owned a company that provided digitization software for websites. In 2015, they were hired by a major university. Niels quickly learned the university’s website search function was holding them back. It was cumbersome, costly and difficult to maintain. He told the university he could do better. And that’s how Cludo was born.
Niels, along with a couple of developers, designed a digital search solution that was just what the university needed. They made a search tool that was easy to implement, maintain and as automatic as possible. These are the fundamental components of what’s become Cludo’s software as a service solution.
Early Opportunity
Opportunity knocked early for Cludo about a year later, when Google shut down its free version of Google Search Appliance. Suddenly, there was a large demand for exactly what Cludo was offering: a user-friendly, personalized search solution.
Cludo was growing and growing quickly! The small startup in Denmark expanded across the ocean to the United States where we have a headquarters in Minneapolis to this day. Throughout all of the growth, our team continued to make our product easier, more affordable and better.
Enter a New CEO
When our CEO, Anne-Marie Feilberg, joined Cludo in 2019, the demand continued as companies and organizations had a better understanding of how search can drive their business strategies. We found our sweet spot with informational search, and we continued to sharpen what we do best.
Anne-Marie’s philosophy is that search is the easiest, most affordable, best way to start digital transformation. Customers are literally talking to businesses by writing into the search bar exactly what they’re looking for. Our goal is to make sure companies don’t miss out on getting that information directly from their customers.
The COVID Surge
The global coronavirus pandemic has created a digital transformation by changing the way we operate online. For example, financial institutions needed new ways to service customers when they couldn’t walk into a bank. Higher education institutes needed to attract students without being able to invite them on campus. Search is and will remain a major component of this digital transformation.
The Future
Cludo has grown to serve more than 700 customers, but we remain a startup at heart. We’re not stuck in the status quo; we encourage new ideas from all employees. If the ideas are successful, we will only get better. Every new idea and experience will make us better because they give us a chance to learn and grow.
We see ourselves competing with the major players in the search category. We want to conquer the world, and we’ll do that by always helping our clients make their search solutions easier, more affordable and better.
Ready to transform your digital experience through personalized search? Reach out to one of our search experts today to begin your Cludo story!