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"After catching our eyes last year while in private beta,\u00A0helpdesk software startup\u00A0Groove is launching out of beta with a complete\u00A0product and website redesign, raising $1 million and turning down two\u00A0acquisitions\u00A0in the process.\r\n\r\nGroove, which is kicking off with 1,000+ paying customers from its beta days,\u00A0is challenging the likes of Zendesk and oLark with a focus on user experience instead of features. Emphasizing its handsome user interface and simplicity,\u00A0CEO &amp;amp;amp; founder\u00A0Alex Turnbull believes his company will be able to support the needs of small businesses and startups like no other service can. Of course, that's for the users to decide.\r\n\r\nGroove's offering is split into two different products: Helpdesk is a support ticket management service that brings together\u00A0email and social media through its Web, desktop (Adobe Air-powered), iPhone and iPad\u00A0apps.\u00A0LiveChat\u00A0focuses on real-time website visitor engagement, operating exactly as the name implies.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nObservers of this space will note that Groove's competitors, most notably\u00A0SalesForce\u2019s Desk (previously\u00A0known as Assistly),\u00A0showcase similar offerings. In fact, Desk even touts a highly similar landing page and a comparable design aesthetic.\r\n\r\nTo this point, Turnbull explains that Groove packs a more full featured live chat\u00A0app, and, perhaps most importantly, offers a\u00A0freemium pricing model limited by the number of support tickets used. For &amp;quot;Pro&amp;quot; users, Groove's pricing is also much lower than Desk ($49/month/user), as it starts at $25/month/user for\u00A0Helpdesk and\u00A0$12/month/user for LiveChat.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCheck out Groove via the link below and let us know in the comments how you think it stacks up against the competition.\r\n\r\n\u27A4 Groove"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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