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Help Scout PBC
FormerlyBrightwurks
Company typePrivate
IndustrySoftware, SaaS
FoundedApril 17, 2011; 13 years ago (2011-04-17)
FoundersNick Francis, Jared McDaniel, Denny Swindle
Headquarters
Boston, Massachusetts
ProductsHelp Scout Help Desk, Docs, Beacon
ServicesHelp desk software, email management, support automation
Number of employees
100
Websitewww.helpscout.com

Help Scout, legally Help Scout PBC, is a global remote company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts,[1] specializing in help desk software. The company provides an email-based customer support platform, a knowledge base tool, and an embeddable search/contact widget for customer service professionals. Help Scout's primary product is a web-based SaaS (software as a service) help desk that complies with HIPAA regulations.[2][1][3]

Founded in 2011, the company serves over 10,000 customers across more than 140 countries, including notable clients like Buffer,[4][5] Basecamp, Trello,[6] Reddit, and AngelList. Help Scout transitioned to a fully remote company in 2020, with over 100 employees living in more than 80 cities worldwide.[7][8][9][10]

History

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Help Scout was founded by Nick Francis,[11] Jared McDaniel, and Denny Swindle, who previously ran Brightwurks, a web design consultancy based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was publicy launched during their parcipation in Techstars Boston, a startup accelerator program. In 2015, the company rebranded from Brighwurks to Help Scout.[12]

Features and technology

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Help Desk

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Help Scout's support software operates like a shared email inbox. The platform enables large teams to provide customer support via email using their tool.[13] It integrates with live chat, phone systems, CRMs, and email marketing tools.[14]

Docs

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In addition to the help desk platform, Help Scout offers Docs, a self-service knowledge base as a feature in 2013.[15] Exporting documents requires API access and programming knowledge; there is no export to ZIP file containing HTML source code/CSS/assets, or PDF offerings at this time.[16]

Beacon

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Help Scout's embeddable widget, Beacon, provides users on a website with quick access to Docs and/or serves as a contact form.[17]

Mobile

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Help Scout launched its iOS app[18] in January 2016 and its Android app[19] in February 2017.

Open source contribution

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One of the developers at Help Scout created an open-source CSS framework used to style their marketing website. Named Seed, this framework is written using Sass and follows the BEM and ITCSS naming architecture. It employs modern JavaScript-like methodologies for scoping, modularization, and dependency management. More information and Getting Started documentation can be found at seedcss.com.[1]

Work culture

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Help Scout operates as a fully remote company,[20] utilizing video communication for company-wide updates.[21] The company's sales team operates under a non-commission structure with fixed salaries.[22]

Branding

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Formerly known as Brightwurks, Help Scout officially changed its name to match their central Help Desk product in 2015. Help Scout's original logo was a literal Help Scout (akin to a Boy Scout) before changing to a medal, then a laurel wreath, and the present-day three diagonal lines which denote the initials HS (Help Scout).[23]

Awards, recognition, and philanthropy

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In December 2011, Help Scout (then Brightwurks) participated in a fundraising initiative for Acumen, a charity fighting poverty, donating over $100,000 from the sale of a poster featuring Steve Jobs' quote “Here’s to the crazy ones.”[24][25]

In November 2015, Help Scout was named by AppStorm as one of six customer service software offerings to delight customers on Mac.[26] That year, it was also recognized as a “marketing tool to know” by Business2Community[27] and a “game-changing software solution” for startups by Business.com.[28] In 2016, BostInno’s listed Help Scout among the “16 Boston Startups To Watch in 2016”.[29]

Help Scout's work culture and job descriptions have also been acknowledged, winning the “Best Job Description” award from The Workies Awards by Workable in 2015. The company publishes a blog and a newsletter with over 70,000 subscribers, contributing to thought leadership in customer service.[30][31][32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Help Scout Draws Funding To Bring Affordable Email Collaboration And Support To Startups. TechCrunch. 2011-10-08.
  2. ^ Scout, Help. "Help Scout and HIPAA - Help Scout Support". docs.helpscout.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  3. ^ "Farm to keyboard: why software is the next "craft" industry". Quartz. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  4. ^ "Respond by Buffer | The 7 tools we use for support and customer development". Respond By Buffer. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  5. ^ "8 Essential Online Tools For Getting More Work Done". Fast Company. 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  6. ^ Cervino, Brian. "How The Help Scout Integration For Trello Is Transforming Support Teams". Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  7. ^ Higginbottom, Karen. "How Agile Working Has Impacted Our Workspace". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  8. ^ "The Right Way to Build a Remote Culture". Inc.com. 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  9. ^ "Becca Van Nederynen - Help Scout - Remote Work Interview". Pajamas. 2015-08-24. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  10. ^ Zapier. "How Successful Remote Teams Evaluate Employees: A look inside Automattic, GitHub and Help Scout - The Ultimate Guide to Remote Work - Zapier". zapier.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  11. ^ "145 — Nick Francis". From Founder to CEO. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  12. ^ McCarty, Brad (22 July 2011). "Frugality and determination make Help Scout a startup to watch". thenextweb.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  13. ^ "Stuff We Like: Help Scout – Lewis Croft". lewiscroft.com. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  14. ^ "'Drunk user testing' mixes cocktails and coding". Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  15. ^ Scout, Help. "Knowledge Base Software | Help Scout". Help Scout. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  16. ^ "Data Export Options - Help Scout Support". docs.helpscout.com. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  17. ^ Scout, Help. "Beacon | Help Scout". www.helpscout.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  18. ^ "Help Scout on the App Store". App Store. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  19. ^ "Help Scout - Android Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  20. ^ "6 Companies Who Rocked Remote Workflow in 2016". Move Your Business Forward | Worldwide101 Blog. 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  21. ^ "Tired of Endless Meetings? Video Might be The Answer". business.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  22. ^ "Commission Vs. No Commission: Sales Pros Take Sides". BostInno. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  23. ^ Scout, Help. "The Evolution of the Help Scout Brand". Help Scout Blog. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  24. ^ McCarty, Brad (6 December 2011). ""Here's to the crazy ones" gets its own beautiful, letterpress poster to benefit charity". thenextweb.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  25. ^ "The Road to Growth - Help Scout". www.mbbp.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  26. ^ "Slick Customer Service Software For Mac To Delight Your Clients « Mac.AppStorm". mac.appstorm.net. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  27. ^ "100 Awesome Marketing Tools You Should Know". Business 2 Community. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  28. ^ "11 Game-Changing Software for Startups - business.com". business.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  29. ^ "16 Boston Startups to Watch in 2016". BostInno. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  30. ^ "Managing the Double-Edged Sword of Teaser Emails". smallbiztrends.com. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  31. ^ "How Help Scout Went from 0 to 250K Visitors a Month | SEJ". Search Engine Journal. 2015-05-13. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  32. ^ "2015 Workies Award Winners: The Best Recruitment Strategies". Inside Workable - news, company announcements, new features from Workable. 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
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