Software startup Costello acquired by fast-growing Atlanta firm

A 2-year-old Indianapolis startup that makes sales-management software has been acquired by a fast-growing software firm based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Named Costello, the local startup was co-founded in 2017 by Rod Feuer and Frank Dale, former CEO of Indianapolis-based Compendium. That firm was purchased by Silicon Valley tech giant Oracle Corp. in 2013.

Terms of the deal between Costello and acquirer SalesLoft were not disclosed. The acquisition closed on Oct. 31.

SalesLoft plans to maintain Costello’s Indianapolis office—albeit branded as SalesLoft—and keep all 11 of its employees, according to a spokeswoman. Dale and Feuer are expected to remain involved with the company in leadership positions.

Costello makes software for sales calls. It helps keep salespeople on track by reminding them about the important points they need to make and questions they need to ask, and then tracks data for the sales team about which techniques are working best.

“Integrating with SalesLoft’s platform allows us to take our vision to the next level,” Dale said in a media release. “This is the perfect time to combine our opportunity management capabilities with SalesLoft’s best-in-class sales engagement platform and expertise.”

Costello’s first two fund-raising rounds reaped $3.1 million in investment. Its investors included Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures and Collina Ventures; Denver-based Stout Street Capital; Palo Alto, California-based Social Capital; and ExactTarget and ClusterTruck co-founder Chris Baggott.

Founded in 2011, SalesLoft has raised about $145 million in funding, including a $70 million Series D round announced in April. In that announcement, SalesLoft said its recurring revenue had increased by more than 1,000% over the last three years.

SalesLoft has about 450 employees between its offices in Atlanta, San Francisco, London and Guadalajara, Mexico.