James Evans and CommandBar's co-founders were developing a software product. They hit a brick wall trying to access certain functions within the software.The lightbulb moment came and the team began to build a product search engine extension to make software more user-friendly.This paradigm seemed like it could be very useful. However, it is difficult to build well so Evans shared his thoughts with TechCrunch.CommandBar announced Monday its $4.8 million seed round. It was led by Thrive capital and included participation from Y Combinator and BoxGroup. Other angel investors include AngelLists Naval Ravikant and Worklife Ventures Brianne Kellymel. StitchFix president Mike Smith also participated.CommandBars business to-business tool, also known as command k was created to make software easier and more efficient. This technology acts as a search interface and sits on top web-based applications so users can access functions by simply searching simple keywords. It can be used to increase new users by recommending prompts such as referrals.By simply pasting a line of code into CommandBar, companies can quickly integrate CommandBar with configuration tools. Evans explained that the product was deliberately designed to be low-code so customers and product teams can quickly add configurations without having to rely on engineering support.It was initially difficult to sell. One of the most challenging parts of CommandBar's early days was explaining what CommandBar was doing to investors and customers.He said that it was difficult to explain over the phone. We had to use Zoom to show people how to see it. Because they can now see the product in action, it is much easier to sell. This is where you'll find many new customers.CommandBar is being used by Canix, Clubhouse.io and Stacker which serve hundreds of thousands of customers. CommandBar's most popular use case is for onboarding new users of software.Evans plans to use the funding to expand the team and hire across engineering, sales, and marketing. Evans hopes to take that feedback into new products and functionalities later in the year.Vince Hankes is an investor at Thrive capital and was introduced to CommandBar by one of its preseed investors.His main interest lies in B2B software and applications. One of the things that he noticed while looking at the space was the tension between simplicity and functionality.CommandBar makes it easy to navigate apps, even for a power user, he stated.Hankes stated that there are many companies who are interested in their product. We started to see demand from companies that were not obvious. CommandBar is used by these companies to increase customer engagement.
